The Other Avatar Book One: The Darkness Within
by LittleMissMycroft
Summary: The day Ellie Jones's life changed was the day she fell into the creek in her neighborhood located in a backwater town called Achak. Next thing she knew, she was on Zuko's ship and-why were those spirits so interested in her? Follow Ellie on her confusing journey through life in the ATLA universe.
1. Part 1: Girl of the South

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: the Last Airbender or any of its characters or concepts. I only use them to my advantage in creating awesome stories.**

 **This story has been brewing for a while and I have finally determined to post it. I hope you all enjoy the first installment of _The Other Avatar: The Darkness Within._ Be sure to review your thoughts and suggestions.**

 **Also, this story started out as one of those "insert yourself into the story" ones, so my main character was originally based a lot on me. However, when I couldn't decide what element I wanted her to bend, she sort of evolved. Her personality morphed completely, and while the hair and skin are still based on mine, I decided that I wanted to bring out a kind of "other worldly" vibe. I changed the eye color to one that was inspired by my eight grade English teacher.**

 ** _Ed_ _it October 3, 2018: wow, so this chapter is soon going to be half author's note. I've been rereading old works of mine and had not realized how much my writing has progressed in the past three or four years. The result? Editing. Anybody who reads this, just know that it is always okay to edit your writing. I used to have trouble with that, thinking that what I did was the best I could do and that I couldn't make it any better: well I'm glad to say that my writing style has increased enough for me to make substantial edits. I hope this makes this story more enjoyable for all who read it, and I'm ready to take a trip to the past to work on one of my first fanfictions._**

 **So without further ado, sit back, relax, and reaaaaad. :)**

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 **Chapter One: Girl of the South**

Some say that spirits control the weather and if that was true, then the ones in control of the weather in the Tennessee Valley were stupid. Springs were hot but summers were hotter. Sometimes September was warmer than it was in June. In the winter, it may have been twenty degrees Fahrenheit one day, and sixty the next. But, anyone who lived there could tell you they were used to it. It was not even unusual anymore.

It was a blisteringly hot Wednesday in the middle of July. It had just rained the day before and there were quickly evaporating puddles littering the town of Achak. Now one would expect the temperature to drop slightly after it rained, but it did not. In fact, on that particular day it was one hundred and five degrees, which was higher than it had gotten in several years.

But to fourteen-year-old Eloise (preferably called Ellie, for she hated her name), a native Alabamian, it wasn't all that odd. Ellie was a proud member of the marching band, drumline to be specific, and had just arrived home from band camp. If you currently have a picture in your mind of people sleeping in cabins and relaxing, let me enlighten you: Band camp does not involve vacation. It involves two weeks of grueling work and marching in the hot sun. Because of the temperature and moderate to extreme amounts of exercise, Ellie was wearing a t-shirt that she had cut the sleeves off of. Her shorts were very short and she wore arch supporting, springy tennis shoes.

Her skin was bronze, having gone to the beach and then marched in the blistering sun every day for two weeks straight. This bronzing effect was the result of olive skin that tanned the instant Ellie spent an hour outside. That, plus the blonde hair that bleached to white in the summer, high cheek bones, and small eyes, resulted in Ellie looking albino Native American. Her grandfather, who learned about Native Americans, used to tell her that if she had been sent back in time, the natives would have worshiped her as the sun spirit.

Her eyes were a golden color with a ring of green around the outside. Sometimes they looked orange, sometimes green, and sometimes brown. Only in specific lighting would the gold in her eyes stand out like a ring of glowing sunlight. They were unique and Ellie loved them as much as she loved her short blonde hair, which was cut in a bob just below her ears.

When camp ended for the day Ellie was exhausted, but that didn't stop her from leashing their two dogs up and taking them on a walk around the neighborhood. The girl walked down to the end of the street and crossed the bridge that went over the creek, which was swollen from the rain. With snuffling noises, the two dogs sniffed at grass and concrete as Ellie looked wistfully over at the pool house.

On a hot day like this, she would give nothing more than to be able to go swimming in the cool, clean pool water, but she had the dogs with her and they weren't allowed in. So, she walked off the sidewalk and down the steep slope to the creek, guiding the dogs around the railing that was meant to keep cars from crashing in the small gully. The girl splashed around in the creek for a bit before climbing out of the water and up onto the steep bank. When she rounded the little hill, she saw a gang of girls standing there, leaning over the railing to watch her. They were wrapped in towels, dripping chlorine water from the nearby swimming pool. As opposed to Ellie's ratty tank and shorts, these girls wore bikinis with dainty white flip-flops.

The leader stepped forward onto the grass and clovers, careful to keep her shiny, white footwear away from mud.

"Well, well, well," she said with her hands on her hips. A little smirk played across her face. "If it isn't little _Eloise_."

Ellie scowled and drew herself to her full height. She had no idea why the girl opted to call her little when Ellie was taller than her. On top of that, she was only a few months younger which made it all the more annoying. Also the girl insisted on calling Ellie by her hated name, Eloise. Oh, how she wished to bash in that girl's perfectly powdered nose. But instead she smiled. Her counselor would not approve if he knew that she had reverted to childish brawls.

"Hello, Alexia. I understand you lost your cat? How tragic," she said with a hint of sarcasm in her voice.

In case those words sound a bit suspicious, no Ellie did _not_ steal Alexia's cat and throw it under a truck (though she wanted to badly).

It was Alexia's turn to scowl. "What are you doing down here, Jones? Maybe this is why you smell so bad, if you play in the nasty creek all the time."

Ellie knew that the key to bullies was to not show that they bothered her. It unnerved them to see that insults didn't affect her. Therefore she smiled wider and turned around to fix the dog's leash. Her smile fell slightly as she looked at the muddy swollen creek to see the red dirt wash away before her eyes and the water took on a blueish look. She hardly even noticed the hands on her back before she felt herself falling.

As if in slow motion she saw the water draw nearer, lapping hungrily at its muddy banks and a ripple of colors went across the surface. She had just enough time to fear what would happen when she landed in the shallow water, realizing she would probably get hurt, and to glance around frantically. For the briefest second, the fourteen-year-old thought she could see the bottom of an orange robe and a pair of furry feet standing on the opposite bank-Wait, _furry_? But then, Ellie was totally submerged in the water and couldn't tell which way was up or down. She opened her eyes to see colors swirling around her and began to grow dizzy, so she snapped them shut again.

Then the warm water suddenly felt freezing and her fingers and toes numbed. The light faded and her lungs were searing from lack of air. Then her head broke the surface of the water and she gulped in as fast as possible, registering that the air was cold and her ears and nose were going numb as well.

Ellie opened her eyes to bright light and squinted. She vaguely noticed the white ice caps, reflecting light of a bright sun that was overhead. The water she was in was not muddy red or even clear reflecting the rocks that were under the creek, but was a deep blue.

She tread water, her limbs feeling heavier and heavier by the minute and she drew in shuddering, shaky breaths. She was feeling so cold now that she was burning and shivering. Ellie heard shouts and saw a life preserve being thrown to her. She grabbed hold of it in a sort of dazed way. Ellie was pulled out of the water and slumped on the deck. All ready tired from marching and exhausted from the fight to keep her life, she felt darkness closing in on her. She looked up right before she passed out and saw a familiar, scarred face and her eyes widened in shock before closing altogether.

OA

Prince Zuko stood on the deck of his ship, waiting impatiently for his men to thaw his ship out of the ice so that they could resume his search for the Avatar. He was especially angry because after years of searching for the all-powerful being, he had finally found him and captured him. The glory had been short lived, however when the boy had escaped moments later.

"Hurry up!" he barked.

Zuko stood watching angrily when suddenly the men were scurrying around, fetching life rafts and peering over the side of the ship. He stomped over and shouted on the way, "What are you men doing?"

The prince leaned over the side of the ship as well to see something flailing in the water. He watched for a moment, wondering what it was, but as the water stilled he could see that it was a girl treading water. Though she was staying afloat, it looked as though she was exhausted. The soldiers threw her a life raft and she grabbed hold of it. Zuko watched as she was dragged aboard. Her eyes widened at the sight of him and then she fell limp.

Before his uncle, General Iroh came over, he took note of her appearance. Everything about her screamed Water Tribe except for her unusually pale hair. _Sand colored_ , his mind supplied. Iroh came over and looked at the girl as well.

"Where did she come from?" Iroh asked after a second.

"We pulled her out of the water, sir," a soldier replied, his voice was muffled through his mask.

"Well," Uncle replied after a moment. "Take her to our extra quarters."

The man nodded and scooped her up. Iroh and Zuko followed him, complaining.

"Uncle! What are you doing? She's obviously Water Tribe! What if she was sent here to spy on us?"

They reached a door and Iroh paused looking at Zuko.

"I do not think she is a spy. Would you rather me throw her back into the water and let her drown?"

Zuko scowled, but didn't reply. Instead, he followed the elderly man into the extra room. As she was set down, Zuko noticed that her fingertips were white and her lips were blue. Perhaps Iroh had noticed as well, for he shifted into a firebending form and the girl's skimpy clothing heated and dried until they were steaming.

Then Iroh had her placed on the bed and piled extra blankets on top of her to warm her back up.

"Uncle!" Zuko shouted angrily. "I—"

"Go practice your firebending, Prince Zuko," the retired general replied. "I will alert you when she wakes. If you need to, you may ask her a few questions."

Zuko opened his mouth to explain to him that he couldn't _not allow_ him to do anything, but he decided against it and stormed back on deck. Iroh wasn't called Dragon of the West for nothing.

Therefore, Zuko began shooting fire out of his fists and feet, allowing it to drain all of his anger away. The men were digging the ship out once more and he practiced in silence, all the time brooding angrily. He didn't like the way that girl had looked at him. It was as if she knew who he was. But that was impossible, she was a Water Tribe _peasant_. He kicked the air, fire spewing from his foot. Uncle acted as if he ran the ship, not Zuko. He punched some fire into the frigid air.

The prince had no idea how long he practiced, but he knew it was a good while. He was growing fatigued and the sun was setting. Finally, a door opened behind him and Iroh walked up to him. He was the picture of calm with his hands tucked into his sleeves.

"She's waking up," Iroh said.

Zuko grunted and shot one last trail of fire at one of the men.

OA

Ellie regained consciousness slowly. She tried to move her arms, but it felt as if there were heavy weights attached to them. She tried to open her eyes, but it felt as if they were glued shut. The girl vaguely remembered that she hadn't gone to bed that night. But, if she hadn't gone to bed, why was she asleep? _Maybe I laid down when I returned from my walk to the creek,_ she thought. But no, the girl couldn't remember returning home. Then, as Ellie remembered being shoved into the creek, she shoved an unpleasant thought from her mind. She couldn't be _dead_.

Deciding not to think, the girl lay there blissfully, relishing in the warmth and comfort of the bed she was laying on. She heard a loud screech and the shuffling of feet. Finally letting curiosity get the better of her, Ellie wrenched her eyes open. Suddenly, she bolted upright, all exhaustion gone. There were two people standing in here doorway.

Hypothermia and sleep clouded her mind and the fourteen-year-old vaguely noted that the two men standing in the doorway looked foreign. She also noted she was no longer in her neighborhood anymore. The girl wondered where she was before asking, "Where am I? Have you called my parents?"

"Oh, are they nearby?" the older one asked.

Ellie froze. Memory suddenly rushed into her mind as quickly as the cold air that invaded the metallic room as the door was opened. She had been dragged onto a ship out of the water. She had also been surrounded by giant icebergs. Somehow, she suspected her parents were nowhere nearby.

"I…don't think so," she replied.

"What is your name?" the older man asked.

"Ellie Jones."

And then she realized. The girl suddenly snapped into consciousness and began to panic. The two men—one younger, who could've been a teenager, and one older—both were wearing red robes. The older one was shorter and was stroking his goatee thoughtfully as his kind eyes observed her. They were two characters out of a television series she had been obsessed with three years previous. General Iroh and Prince Zuko of _Avatar: The Last Airbender_ were standing in her doorway.

Iroh stepped forward, concern showing in his eyes.

"Are you all right, young lady?" he asked. Ellie looked at him before composing herself. This was most likely a dream. That was all.

She forced a smile. "I'm—fine," her voice was still higher than normal from the panic. She glanced at Zuko to see him glaring at her.

Ellie looked back at Iroh when he asked her, "What were you doing in the water?"

"I-I don't know," she said slowly. Then she remembered Alexia and being pushed into the creek. "I think I was pushed."

In Zuko's mind, he saw a brief image of dark hands pushing this poorly dressed girl over the edge of an icy cliff-but he quickly shoved this from his mind. He would not allow her potentially fabricated tory to draw sympathy from him. Instead, Zuko looked at her eyes to see that they were amber. It was strange. They were the color of Fire Nation nobility, but her dark skin and high cheekbones told him she was a Water Tribe girl.

"What are you doing here?" he growled. Those unnerving eyes turned on him. "Were you sent to spy on me? You're working with the Avatar aren't you?"

"Wha-No!" she exclaimed. Ellie was confused and just wanted to go home. She threw off her blankets, intending on finding how to get back home. Maybe if she jumped back in the water, she would end up in the creek back home. These thoughts were washed away, however when coldness flooded back to her. She remember that she was wearing a sleeveless shirt and short shorts. She turned sheepishly to Iroh. "You don't happen to have any warmer clothes my size do you?"

Iroh nodded. "I am sure we have something for you somewhere."

"When can I go home?" she asked. Once she was standing up, she noticed how tall Zuko actually was. Sure, Ellie was taller than Iroh, but Zuko still had several inches on her. It made her feel insecure and small as the tall young man surveyed her critically.

"I am afraid you are stuck with us," Iroh said. "We have already started moving again. We don't have enough time to turn around."

Ellie's heart sank. Zuko looked even angrier. "No! She cannot stay with us, I forbid it!"

"We cannot turn around, Prince Zuko," Iroh said. "We must get the ship repaired immediately."

"Fine!" the hot-headed prince snapped. "Keep her out of my sight!"

He stormed out of the room. "I'll go find you a robe," Iroh said, leaving as well.

Ellie sighed and sat down at the foot of her bed. Somehow, deep down, she suspected she may never find her way home again.

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 **That's all, folks! A few notes for this chapter.**

 **One, is the town called Achak. It is not a real place. I made it up and its name is Native American in origin. Anyone who can tell me what it means, review! Then you may find out later why I named it that. Also, while Achak is a fictional place, the Tennessee Valley (Alabama) is not.** **I even looked up weather and stuff for it.**

 **Secondly, yes I had a teacher who had yellow eyes with a ring of green around the edge of her irises. I do believe she is the only person I've seen with that eye color, but I thought it would do nicely to help portray Ellie's appearance more like a summer spirit or something.**

 **Finally, the plot may seem confusing and mainstream at first, but keep reading because I have a few well-thought-out surprises for you along the story.**

 **Hope you enjoyed!**

 **~LittleMissMycroft**


	2. Part 1: Two Avatars

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: the Last Airbender, nor do I own The Legend of Korra**

 _ **Edit October 3, 2018: This one didn't have as many blatant problems, so it was more difficult to look at. Often lack of blatant mistakes but rough writing results in rewriting entire paragraphs. What fun.**_

* * *

 **Chapter Two: Two Avatars**

Ellie sat across from Iroh, holding a cup of tea. He had just finished firebending lesson with Zuko. It was the second day she had been on the Fire Nation ship, so Iroh was making attempts to get to know more about her, as it appeared as though she would be traveling with them for some time more-although, she had not yet asked about that matter in particular.

"I assume your hair is naturally that color?" Iroh asked lightly.

Ellie laughed. No longer wet, it had gone from that sandy color to white blonde.

"Yes, it is. My grandfather used to tease me, saying that I was part sun spirit."

A sadness crept into her amber eyes as she remembered her family. She had realized the day before that she may never see any of them again.

"So, Ellijones," Iroh said.

Ellie looked confused. Then she realized that when she had told the elderly man her full name, he must have thought it was just one name.

"Oh, no," she said. "It's just Ellie."

"Pardon?" Iroh asked.

"Just call me Ellie. My name is Ellie. Jones. Jones is my family name."

Iroh sat up straighter in confusion. Only Earth Kingdom families had names. Yet this girl had a family name, golden eyes that were specific to fire nation royalty, and dark skin and facial structure of a Water Tribe Girl.

"What is your name?" Ellie asked politely. Although she already knew what it was, she figured it would be less odd for her to ask his name as opposed to displaying that she already knew it.

"You may call me Iroh," he said. Ellie nodded.

"So," Ellie said, her mind cycling back to her earlier thoughts. "I am going to be staying with you?"

"I think that it is for the best right now," Iroh replied. Ellie couldn't help but agree. She had nowhere else to go, after all. "We cannot return you to the Southern Water Tribe for some time."

"Oh," Ellie said uncomfortably, her head snapping up in surprise. "I'm not—Well I wasn't—I'm not exactly Water Tribe."

"You aren't?" Iroh asked for a second before regaining his composure. "I do apologize. You do look an awful like one of them. Except for your eyes of course."

"And my hair?" Ellie asked grinning.

"And your hair," Iroh agreed. "Forgive me for asking, but if you are not of the Water Tribe, where are you from and how did you get there?"

"I'm…from far away. And as to how I got here…I honestly have no idea."

A door slammed open behind them and Ellie jumped. She turned around to see Zuko standing in the doorway.

"What are you doing here?" he asked rudely.

"What are _you_ doing here?" Ellie shot back, annoyed.

"This happens to be _my_ ship. Return to your room."

"You can't just—"

"I am the prince! I can tell you to do whatever I want you to!"

"You're not _my_ prince," Ellie retorted. "I'm not Fire Nation, which means I'm not a citizen of your country. We are not _in_ your country, which means that its laws in no way apply to me. So you have no right to boss me around!"

At first Iroh looked as though he were trying to bite back a chuckle, but when the girl finished her tirade, he intervened with a placating tone and said, "Ellie, please return to your room so that I may have a few words with my nephew."

Ellie stopped and looked at the old man for a second. Then she nodded stiffly and left the room.

"What are you doing, Uncle?" Zuko hissed. "You are fraternizing with the enemy!"

"I do not think she is the enemy, Prince Zuko," the Dragon of the West replied. "She is merely a little lost girl."

"She is a distraction," Zuko growled. "I will not have anything coming in between me and the Avatar."

With that, he stormed out of the room and up to the bridge.

Ellie, who was now in her room, sighed and fell on her bed. She wanted something to do. The girl hated being bossed around and sent to her room. She wanted something to distract her from the fact that she was so far away from home. Ellie was a tough girl. She was never the kind to cry in sad movies or anything and she had not shed a single tear yet, though she had been in the Avatar world for two days. But just then she could not help the tears that formed and began to flow down her cheeks.

OA

A week later Ellie had changed. After breaking down, the girl had hardened slightly, pushing her emotions back underneath the surface so that she could get on with life. She had a new purpose and was now dedicated to figuring out how she had gotten to Aang's world. Ellie tore apart Iroh's scrolls, trying to find some hint as to how she had been thrown from one world to the next. The girl had no idea what she was looking for, so it was slow progress.

One particular day found Ellie sitting on deck with a scroll about spirits. In the background, Zuko was training his firebending and General Iroh was watching him. Ellie had decided a couple days previously that the best way to figure this out was to see if it had something to do with the spirits. Her current scroll was about the moon and ocean spirits. She already knew all about them from the TV show, but Ellie figured that it wouldn't hurt to review. She knew that they were going to end up at the North Pole, so she hoped that maybe Iroh could help her get into the Spirit World so that she could ask the spirits herself. If that didn't work, she thought going to Aang might help.

Zuko eyed his opponent, finding the best way to take him out. He carefully noted the man's movements and habits. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a flash of pale hair. He glanced over at Ellie and saw her reading one of his uncle's scrolls. She was chewing her lip and tapping her toes on the ground as she did so. He wondered if she even realized she was doing it. The girl glanced up and their eyes caught for the briefest second before Zuko felt fire rushing towards him.

He spun on his toes and with a yell, took control of the fire and blasted it back at the soldier he was sparring with. Then, he angrily stomped over to Ellie. She had distracted him. She stood up as he towered over her and glared readily at him. He took in her steady stance, but paid it no mind. Instead, he grabbed the sleeve of her robe and slammed her arm against the wall where she couldn't move.

"What are you doing?" she shouted.

"I thought I told you to stay in your room!" Zuko shouted.

"You can't tell me what to do!" she shrieked. She twisted her arm out of his grasp surprisingly quick. He growled angrily and spun on his heel.

"Go back to the Water Tribe where you belong."

Ellie felt her eyes tear up again as all of the emotions she had hidden bubbled back to the surface once more. She didn't belong anywhere in this world. She had no home. She was constantly bullied by Zuko. She missed her family so much it ached. All of her hurts came flooding into her and she grew very, very angry.

Iroh, who had watched this go down, observed as the girl grew angrier. Then, her eyes began to glow orange and fire shot out of her fists behind her.

Her voice sounded oddly magnified as she shouted, "You don't know what you're talking about!"

Zuko turned around just in time to see her shoot a huge trail of fire at him. His eyes widened and he created a ball of fire to protect himself. Iroh covered his eyes from the brightness of it. When the fire went out, both firebenders saw Ellie standing there, her hair whipping around her head, with her eyes glowing that unnatural orange. Then, the glowing faded, her eyes rolled up into her head, and she let out a small moan as she slumped forward.

Zuko stood rooted to the spot, shocked. He had no idea what he had been expecting, but it certainly wasn't that. Something odd was going on here. He would've thought that the girl was the Avatar, but the bald monk was an airbender. How could this girl, a _firebender_ , be the Avatar? But how else could you explain the orange glowing eyes? Maybe she was possessed by spirits?

Similar thoughts flitted to Iroh's mind as he rushed forward and shook the girl.

"Ellie?" he asked, not able to bring his voice above a whisper.

Ellie's eyes opened groggily. "Huh?" she asked distantly.

"Ellie, are you all right?" Iroh asked.

She seemed to wake up and she attempted to sit up. "I'm fine." The girl flopped back down to the floor and said, "What happened?"

"You firebended," Iroh replied kindly.

"I did?" Ellie asked incredulously.

The Dragon of the West helped the blonde girl up and led her back to her room where she fell asleep quickly. Then, he picked up his scroll she had been borrowing and took it to his study. There, he began to wonder.

There was something different in that girl's chi, he could feel it. It was much like the young airbender's. Iroh could feel the spirits strong in Ellie. It was one talent he had gained after visiting the Spirit World. He, as well as his nephew, wondered if she could possibly be the Avatar, but that led to complications.

Ellie had only been seen firebending and everyone knew that the Avatar had to be an airbender or a waterbender. The boy Zuko had caught was definitely an airbender. This meant that either Ellie was the Avatar, fully realized and the boy was just a simple airbender, or it meant that the airbender was the Avatar and the girl was simply a firebender possibly possessed by spirits.

Unless…Iroh shook his head. It was impossible. Unheard of. There had never been two Avatars at once before, so how could there be two now? Iroh shook his head. There was only one way to find out, but this made it certain. Ellie was officially never going to leave Iroh until he got to the bottom of this. Iroh got scroll upon scroll about the spirits and the avatar and piled them on his desk, reading.

OA

Ellie tossed and turned in her bed.

 _A man, obviously from the Water Tribe was touching a beam of light with glowing orange eyes. The beam connected with another one to form an arch of glowing, green power. He let out a yell and dust surrounded him. Then the dust dissipated and a purple stream of energy surrounded the man._

" _We are now one," he said._

Ellie sat up panting. That was the oddest dream she had ever had. She put a hand up to her face to rub her eyes. Then, she groaned softly and stood up.

The girl walked silently out of her room. The deck was cold and dark. Ellie guessed that it was night. She made her way through the halls of the ship until she found Iroh's study and went in. Miraculously, he was still awake. The kind old man was sitting at his desk with a huge pile of scrolls. He was rifling through them fervently but suddenly stopped when he spotted Ellie.

"I couldn't sleep," Ellie said at Iroh's questioning look. "Nightmare."

"Do you want to talk about it?" he asked.

Ellie shrugged and sat in the chair opposite him.

"It was about some guy from the Water Tribe. He had orange glowing eyes. Then he touched this beam of light and said, 'We are now one'. What is that supposed to mean?"

Iroh stopped when she had said glowing orange eyes.

"Where did this dream take place?"

"Uh…" Ellie said trailing off. She hadn't seen a place like it before in all of the episodes of _Avatar: The Last Airbender_. She thought she might have recognized it from the sequel, _The Legend of Korra,_ but she hadn't seen any full episodes of that series. Only clips. "I think it might have been in the Spirit World. There was this big tree with two beams of light on either side of it."

"The Tree of Time," Iroh murmured.

"What?"

"Nothing, nothing," the retired general said, waving a hand.

"What's going on?" Ellie asked.

"I'm not quite certain…" Iroh trailed off before opening a drawer in his desk and rummaging around.

Then, he pulled out a rock, a candle, and a cup of water and set them all on the table. Ellie could tell where this was going, and asked, "What is this?"

"A test," Iroh replied simply.

"I'm not the Avatar!" Ellie exclaimed, standing up. "I've already told your nephew!"

"Are you sure?" Iroh asked.

"I-I can't be. I'm not from here!"

"Just try to bend these three things."

"No!" she exclaimed, throwing her hand out. The water sloshed out of the cup and formed a tendril of water that snaked quickly towards Iroh, but it caught Ellie by surprise so much that it fell to the desk when she saw it.

Then, she froze and looked down at her hand.

"This isn't possible…" she whimpered. "This is _not_ possible!"

She kept staring at her hand in disbelief and her mind started firing rapidly. She knew that Aang was the Avatar, so that meant that there were now two Avatars. If Zuko found out what she was, she would end up being shipped to the fire lord in chains. That meant that Zuko would never go after Aang. That could be a good thing, but it could also alter Aang's destiny so much that something horrible happened. Like maybe Azula would actually manage to kill Aang.

She looked from her hand up to Iroh, who was staring at her in shock. Then, she bolted out of the room. Ellie ran all the way to the cabin she had been sleeping in and locked the door. Then she began to pace. There was only one option. She had to get out of here right away. Ellie knew that there were extra boats. Zuko took one to go after Aang to the fire temple. She also figured that there must be life boats.

Nodding to herself, she went to her door and right as she was about to unlock it, the doorknob rattled and someone banged on the door. Ellie's heart jumped into her mouth. What if it was Zuko? But then a voice, muffled through the door, said, "Please let me in."

Ellie recognized it as Iroh. "How do I know that you won't grab me and throw me in the brig?"

"I am alone. Prince Zuko does not know yet." Ellie unlocked the door and stepped away quickly. Iroh motioned for Ellie to follow him and she reluctantly did so. They returned back to Iroh's study and he sat back down behind his desk, motioning to the chair opposite him for Ellie to sit as well. Then, he said, "We have ourselves a problem here."

"What do you mean?" Ellie asked warily.

"There should not be two Avatars at once."

Ellie breathed a sigh of relief. "So you know Aang's the Avatar?"

"Aang? You mean the airbending monk?" Ellie nodded. "For someone who isn't from here, you sure know an awful lot."

"It's complicated."

Iroh gestured to the fact that they were both sitting down. "I am not going anywhere."

So, Ellie told him about how she was from another world. About how she had gotten there. Then, she told him about the TV show that told her everything that would happen until after Sozin's Comet. She said that she knew that Aang was the Avatar and how she knew there should only be one at a time. The girl informed him of the problem she foresaw and ended her entire story by saying, "—and that's why you can't tell Zuko I'm the Avatar. If he takes me to the Fire Nation, then so many things could go wrong."

Iroh nodded solemnly. "That is the case if you are telling the truth. How can I be sure that you are not lying?"

"I wasn't here when you captured Aang, right?" Iroh nodded. "Zuko took his staff, saying that it would be a good gift for his father and asked you to take it to his quarters. You then told a soldier to do so and took a nap. When you got up from your nap you saw a giant flying creature in the sky and Zuko shouted to shoot it down. The two of you did so, but Aang redirected your blasts with airbending causing an avalanche. That is how the ship got crushed."

By the end of it, Iroh was gaping at her. "Okay, I think I believe you."

* * *

 **Ah, the benefits of once having every single ATLA episode memorized. I know what you all must be thinking: "That crazy girl has now brought in a _second_ Avatar!" but I guess that's what happens when you can't decide what kind of bender you want your OC to be. Now, tell me what you think! **

**~LittleMissMycroft**


	3. Part 1: Repairing Zuko's Ship

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: the Last Airbender**

* * *

 **Chapter Three: Repairing Zuko's Ship**

It was then decided that Ellie would stay on the ship until she learned firebending. Then, she would have to find her own way. So, the next week was filled with her training. When she wasn't practicing firebending, she was watching Zuko, trying to learn from some of his techniques. Ellie knew that most firebenders needed a drive, but anger was a bad one. So, she caught on to firebending pretty quick because she used her desire to learn how she was the Avatar and to figure out how she got there as her drive.

A week after she discovered that she was the—well—an Avatar, the ship finally pulled into port for repairs. Ellie, excited to set foot on land again, ran up to the deck happily.

"Where do you think you're going?" Zuko asked, walking up to her.

"On shore," she said, practically bouncing. "I miss the land."

"No," Zuko said. "As my prisoner, you must stay here."

"What makes me your prisoner?" she shot back. "I'm a firebender!"

"Fine! You may come ashore!" Zuko shouted angrily. "But don't wander off and don't say anything about the Avatar. Actually, just don't say anything at all."

Ellie growled in aggravation but decided not to argue. Instead, she found Iroh and followed him on shore. Unfortunately Zuko stayed with Iroh as well. Ellie looked up and down the port, deciding that it wasn't much. They were surrounded by ships that were all much larger than Zuko's. There was also a single, but large, tent in front of them and to the right slightly.

"Uncle," Zuko was saying. "I want the repairs made as quickly as possible. I don't want to stay too long and risk losing his trail."

"You mean the Avatar?" Iroh asked.

"Don't mention his name on these docks," Zuko said quietly. "Once word gets out that he's alive, every firebender will be out looking for him and I don't want anyone getting in the way!"

"Getting in the way of what, Prince Zuko?"

All three of them turned to see a man in a fire nation uniform walking up to them. Ellie glared at him. She knew where they were in the series now as Commander Zhao walked up to them. Aang was at the Southern Air Temple. She smiled. It was rather convenient that, although she hadn't watched the show within the past year at all, she had once watched it so often that she had every episode memorized. It was not so now, but she remembered enough to get by.

"Captain Zhao," Zuko said.

"It's Commander now," Zhao corrected the boy. "And General Iroh, great hero of our nation."

"Retired general," Iroh replied.

"The firelord's brother and son are welcome guests any time. What brings you to my harbor?"

"Our ship is being repaired," Iroh said.

Zhao, who luckily hadn't noticed Ellie yet, looked up at the ship. "That's quite a bit of damage."

"Yes," Zuko said. "You wouldn't believe what happened." He looked around as if trying to find inspiration for a story that he could tell that didn't involve the Avatar. Then, he looked at Iroh. "Uncle! Tell Commander Zhao what happened!"

"It was magnificent," Iroh said before leaning over to Zuko. "What did we crash or something?"

Ellie face palmed and Zhao finally looked at her. She discreetly sidled behind Iroh when he looked away.

"Yes. Right into an Earth Kingdom ship!"

"Really," Zhao replied. Ellie knew that he could tell they were lying. "You must regale to me all the thrilling details. Join me for a drink?"

Zuko turned towards the ship as he replied, "Sorry, but we have to go."

"Prince Zuko!" Iroh scolded. Zuko came to a stop. "Show Commander Zhao some respect. We would be honored to join you. Do you have any ginseng tea? It's my favorite."

Zuko growled and shot fire out of his fists. Ellie followed them to the large tent. Once the three of them were seated, Zhao went off on a long lecture about the fire nation being superior. Ellie found it very boring and had trouble focusing on what Zhao was saying. Instead, she was happily imagining punching Zhao in the face repeatedly. Then, she brooded on her abilities as the Avatar. She had improved firebending greatly. Maybe it was because she was an Avatar, but it came really easy to her.

Iroh seemed to think the lecture was boring as well; he wasn't even trying to listen. Ellie looked over to see the old man examining some of Zhao's spears. Finally, she turned her attention back to the annoying commander.

"—and by summer's end the Earth Kingdom capital will be under our rule. The Fire Lord will finally claim victory in this war."

"If my father thinks the rest of the world will follow him willingly, then he is a fool," Zuko replied.

"Two years at sea have done nothing to temper your tongue," Zhao said. Then, he leaned back and smiled at Zuko. The smile didn't quite reach his eyes. "So, how is your search for the Avatar going?"

Iroh conveniently chose that moment to knock over the entire case of spears.

"My fault, entirely," he said giving a little bow. After Zhao turned back to Zuko, Iroh sent Ellie a worried look. She began to drum on her leg nervously.

"We haven't found him yet," Zuko replied, luckily calm enough to sound genuine.

"Did you really expect to? The Avatar died a hundred years ago. Along with the rest of the airbenders." Zuko's eyes slid to the ground. "Unless you've found some evidence he's actually alive?"

"No, nothing," Zuko replied, his eyes snapping back up defiantly.

"Prince Zuko, the Avatar is the only one who can stop the fire nation from winning this war. If you have any ounce of loyalty left, you'll tell me what you've found."

"I haven't found anything. It's like you said, the Avatar must have died a long time ago." He stood up and said, "Come on Uncle, we're going."

Zuko led Iroh to the doorway with Ellie following behind. As soon as they got to the doorway, two soldiers barred their path.

"Commander Zhao," one of them said. "We interrogated the entire crew as you suggested. They confirmed Prince Zuko had the Avatar, but let him escape."

Zhao grinned evilly. "Now tell me, Prince Zuko. How exactly was your ship damaged?"

So Iroh and Zuko told Zhao about how they had captured Aang and how he had escaped on his flying bison. They conveniently left out the fact that they had found Ellie in the water. So far, Zhao had not thought that Ellie deserved his attention, and the three of them wanted to keep it that way.

"So a twelve year old boy bested you and your firebenders. You're more pathetic than I thought."

"I underestimated him once, but it will not happen again," Zuko growled.

"No it will not," Zhao retorted. "Because you won't have a second chance."

"Commander Zhao! I've been hunting the Avatar for two years, and I—"

"And you failed!" Zhao snarled, letting fire curl from his fingers. "Capturing the Avatar is too important to leave in a teenager's hands. He's mine now." Zuko jumped to his feet and started forward, but two soldiers grabbed him. "Keep them here."

Zuko, still restrained as Zhao walked out of the tent, kicked the table that held their teas with a grunt. Ellie just then realized how dangerous it was for Iroh to hide the fact that she was the Avatar. She appreciated him even more as he said, "More tea please!". He was the closest thing she had to having a grandfather (or a tea loving uncle) in this world.

After a moment of silence, Zhao returned back to the tent. "My search party is ready," he said. "Once I'm out to sea, my guards will escort you back to your ship and you'll be free to go."

"Why?" Zuko asked. "Are you afraid I'll try and stop you?"

Zhao laughed. "You? Stop me? Impossible."

"Don't underestimate me, Zhao. I will capture the Avatar before you."

"Prince Zuko, that's enough!" Iroh barked.

"You can't compete with me," Zhao said smugly. "I have hundreds of warships under my command, and you? You're just a banished prince. No home, no allies, your own father doesn't want you."

Zuko jumped to his feet again. "That's not true."

"But it is. If your father really loved you, he would've let you returned by now, Avatar or no Avatar. But in his eyes, you are a failure and a disgrace to the Fire Nation. You have the scar to prove it."

"Maybe you'd like one to match!" Zuko shouted.

"Is that a challenge?"

"An agni kai, at sunset."

"Very well," Zhao said with a smirk and he left them alone. Ellie shook her head. An agni kai was exactly what he had wanted.

"Prince Zuko," Iroh pleaded. "Have you forgotten what happened last time you dueled a master?"

Ellie turned to look at him to see that his head was bowed. She couldn't help but look at his scar. She hadn't really paid much attention to it, as she was used to scars. One of her best friends had had one from a car wreck that had messed up the whole right side of her face. But Ellie knew that Zuko's scar had come from no car wreck.

"I will never forget."

OA

As the sun set, Zuko and Zhao went to the arena for the agni kai. Both of them were kneeling on one knee with their right fist resting on the ground. Iroh and Ellie stood in front of Zuko to watch, and in Iroh's case, give Zuko last minute advice.

"Remember your fire bending basics, Prince Zuko. They are your greatest weapons."

"I refuse to let him win," Zuko said. Then he stood up, letting his drape fall to the floor.

Zhao did the same, saying, "This will be over quickly."

Ellie smirked. Yes, it will, she thought. Just not in the way you expect.

They turned to face each other and took up a defensive position. A soldier above them rang the gong to signal the start of the duel. They both stood for a moment, waiting on the other to make the first move. Then, with a shout, Zuko curved his arm down with fire starting to form, before thrusting his arms out at Zhao. A blast of fire shot at the commander, but he easily evaded it. Zuko sent four more blasts that Zhao again dodged. Then, Zuko managed to get one headed straight at him, but Zhao formed a triangle with his hands and the fire flowed away from him. Zhao deflected a couple more gusts of fire before crouching down and sending one of his own towards the prince.

Even though she knew the outcome of the battle, Ellie couldn't help but be on edge at the sight of the two dueling. Then Zhao went on the offensive and shot blast after blast at Zuko. The prince kept his stance and deflected the blasts until Zhao send a gust at him using both of his palms and he was knocked onto his side. For a moment, Zuko watched as Zhao walked forward, ready to claim his victory, but then he decided that he would not lose. Not again. Not today.

With a shout, he spun in a circle and kicked Zhao's legs out from underneath him and jumped cleanly to his feet. Zhao was now getting worn and was off balance and Zuko easily beat him back before knocking him over and holding his fist out in preparation for the last strike. He aimed for the commander's face, but at the last moment he hesitated.

"Do it!" Zhao shouted.

With a grunt, Zuko shot fire out of his fist, but it did not land on Zhao. Instead, it landed on the ground beside the man's head.

"That's it?" the commander asked. "Your father raised a coward."

"Next time you get in my way, I promise I won't hold back," Zuko said. Then he turned and walked toward Ellie and Iroh. Iroh went forward to join him. After a couple of steps, Zhao stood up, facing the opposite way before spinning on his heels and angrily shooting a blast of fire at Zuko. Iroh went forward with agility too great for a normal old man and grasped Zhao's foot, stopping the flames. Then, he shoved the commander back onto the ground. Zuko started forward, but the Dragon of the West caught him.

"No, Prince Zuko. Do not taint your victory." He turned to Zhao. "So this is how the great Commander Zhao acts in defeat? Disgraceful. Even in exile, my nephew is more honorable than you. Thanks again for the tea, it was delicious."

As they walked back to the ship, Zuko asked, "Did you really mean that, Uncle?"

"Of course," he replied with a smile. "I told you, ginseng tea is my favorite."

* * *

 **This one was kind of mundane, sticking primarily to the episode "The Southern Air Temple". Luckily, more interesting ones are in store that involve more than Iroh proving himself to Ellie by not turning her in as the Avatar...**

 **Don't forget to review!**

 **~LittleMissMycroft**


	4. Part 1: Kyoshi Island

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender**

 **Now, usually I update on Mondays, but I decided to do it a bit early since I will be in a car half the day tomorrow with no wifi. So, enjoy and don't forget to review for my kindness.**

* * *

 **Chapter Four: Kyoshi Island**

They had been heading north. Ellie could tell because after they passed Whale Tail Island, the weather gradually grew warmer and warmer. Because of this, she spent more and more time out on the main deck. Her skin had been paling ever since they had arrived as a result from her being in doors and wearing longer sleeves. Also, as weeks went by Ellie realized that her hair was steadily getting longer and darker as she saw less sun. It was now a couple inches past her ears and at the top of her head there were two or three inches of sandy blonde hair.

As she grew better and better at her firebending, Iroh decided that she should meditate in the mornings with Zuko. Either he had suggested it to try to get them to talk, or he thought it would help her get closer to her inner fire. Either way, Ellie was stuck meditating in front of a row of candles beside Zuko.

Ever since she had learned she was an Avatar, she had been wary of and practically avoided Zuko. She worried that she might let something slip or that she would get too emotional and bend another element. For her, she hated trying to hide something so big, so she opted to avoid Zuko. Now, she could not avoid him completely.

This was why she could be found meditating next to Zuko with the flames of her candles rising and falling in unison to her breathing. Zuko's were doing the same thing, yet his were higher. She found herself looking at Zuko after a moment. She absorbed every inch of his face. Then, when one of Zuko's eyes slid open a crack, Ellie turned to her candles and snapped her own shut, realizing she had been staring at him. Then, she focused on her breathing.

Breathe in.

She felt something (probably her chi) rise inside her and the warmth on her face grew.

Breathe out.

The warmth receded along with her firebending chi.

Then, she heard the door open behind them.

"The only reason you should be interrupting me," she heard Zuko say beside her, "is if you have news of the Avatar."

The door creaked again as Iroh opened it further. Ellie's eyes still remained closed.

Breathe in.

Her chi bubbled inside her and her flames grew.

Breathe out.

The flames dimmed.

"Well there is news, Prince Zuko," Iroh replied. Then he added hastily, "But you might not like it. Don't get too upset."

Breathe in—

"Uncle, you taught me that keeping a level head is a sign of a great leader. Now whatever you have to say, I'm sure I can take it."

Ellie finally slid her eyes open and looked at Iroh. He was holding a scroll and a fan.

"Okay then," he said. He sounded slightly skeptical and paused, waiting for the inevitable explosion. "We have no idea where he is."

"What?" Zuko shouted, leaping to his feet. Ellie did so as well to avoid being burned by the flames of his candles, which towered ferociously to the ceiling.

Iroh started waving his red fan in front of his face and grunted. "You really should open a window in here."

"Let me see that!" Zuko snarled and snatched the scroll out of his uncle's hand. He opened it up to reveal a map of the four nations.

"There have been multiple sightings of the Avatar, but he is impossible to track down," Iroh said, continuing to wave the fan in his face.

"How am I going to find him, Uncle? He is obviously a master at evasive maneuvering."

Ellie snorted and clamped her hand over her mouth, trying to hide her giggles. Apparently she was unsuccessful, for Zuko and Iroh both turned to look at her. Iroh looked at her in confusion while Zuko glared at her. He seemed mad just at the fact that she was smiling.

"What?" he barked.

Ellie dropped her hand and attempted to control her laughter. "Evasive maneuvering? Master?" and she sank into a fit of giggles again.

"Why are you laughing?"

"Well," Ellie replied, finally managing to stop laughing. "He's a twelve-year-old boy. He probably has no idea where he's going."

OA

Sokka looked down at their map. Then, he looked up at Aang, who was at the front of the bison, holding the reins.

"You have no idea where you're going, do you?" he asked.

"Well," Aang replied, smiling. "I know it's near water."

Sokka looked at the miles and miles of water that surrounded them.

"I guess we're getting close, then," he said sarcastically.

OA

Ellie sat in her room. She worried about what she was going to do after she learned firebending. She knew she needed to go with Aang to learn airbending, but what if they wouldn't let her join the group? What if they knew she had been traveling with Zuko?

After thinking for a second, Ellie guessed that she may need to prove that she was an Avatar in order to convince Aang to teach her airbending. So, she had to bend two separate elements. She looked at her hands before looking around the room. Then, she got up and grabbed a candle and a cup of water and placed them on her side table. Then, she jabbed her hand forward with her palm facing down. Fire sprang from her finger tips and onto the candle. Then she tried to create a puff of air. Nothing happened. Ellie, however, was not discouraged. She knew that most Avatars had difficulty bending the element opposite to their personality. So instead she focused on trying to move the water in the cup. She thought long and hard about moving the water, and then waved her hand above the cup. The water sloshed a little.

Then, she flicked her wrist and brought her entire arm up, wiggling it around a bit. The water followed the motion. Ellie grinned. This was so fun.

OA

"Throw the imposter to the Unagi!"

The girls that had ambushed them walked toward them and flicked their fans open. The leader looked particularly hostile.

"Aang," Katara muttered to him through her teeth. "Do some airbending!"

Aang then scrunched up his face in determination and propelled himself upward with airbending. The ropes binding him to the wooden post snapped and he lowered himself gently to the ground. There were a couple of wow's and Aang felt his heart lift at it.

"It's true," the chief of the village said in awe. "You _are_ the Avatar."

He turned to the crowd that was now beginning to form and said, "Now, check this out!"

He made his hands face each other horizontally and airbended his marbles around the palm of his hand in a circle. Aang grinned stupidly at his trick and everyone started cheering. Soon everyone in the village knew that the Avatar was visiting. A little way down the island, a girl ran up to an Earth Kingdom fisherman who was unloading his fish.

"Did you hear the news?" she asked. "The Avatar's on Kyoshi!"

OA

Ellie sat at the dinner table with Zuko and Iroh. The chef walked in and placed a large plate of fish in the center of the table. Ellie, who wasn't a big fan of fish served herself a small helping and picked at it slightly. The chef walked to the door but paused, seeming to remember something.

"Oh, Your Highness! I almost forgot!" he said. "The Avatar's on Kyoshi Island!"

"The Avatar's on Kyoshi Island?" Zuko parroted. Without waiting for a response, he turned to Iroh. "Uncle. Ready the rhinos. He's not getting away from me this time."

The chef had left and he got up to do the same. As he reached the door, Iroh asked, pointing to the platter of fish, "Are you going to eat that?"

Zuko returned with a huff and snatched the platter up.

"I was going to save it for later!"

Iroh crossed his arms and pouted. Ellie laughed.

They drew near the island the next day in the morning. Zuko said that they would be able to arrive by the afternoon. Then he had rounded on Ellie and ordered her to stay on the ship. She was his prisoner after all. She had pouted and gone to her room. Then, she decided that she did not want to be stuck on the ship, not knowing what was going on. So, she devised a plan.

She went to a room on the ship that she knew was full of armor. Once there, she grabbed a set of armor and snuck it to her room. Luckily she didn't run into anyone on the way. She would've gotten some odd looks if she had been seen sneaking armor to her cabin. Then, she changed out of her robe and into black shirt and pants. She pulled on the armor and staggered under its weight. Then, she put on the helmet and slid the mask into place.

Ellie experimentally shot some strong flames at the metal wall of her room. She did not intend to fight, but if something went wrong she may need to firebend and it needed to seem like a soldier's firebending and not small little flames a little girl who had only just begun learning would make.

After she had her disguise, she went to the stables and grabbed a rhino. She hoisted herself onto its back and nudged it forward. It was surprisingly easy as Ellie had ridden horses several times. This wasn't all that different. The main thing was that the rhino was stouter and slightly less comfortable.

The girl took her rhino up and met with the other soldiers that were going to be accompanying Zuko. There were four in all and Ellie figured that Zuko would be so focused on apprehending the Avatar that he wouldn't notice the extra soldier.

And she was right. As they pulled up to the beach of an island, Zuko joined them on his own rhino and didn't comment at all. Instead he said as they were steering their rhinos down the ramp to land, "I want the Avatar alive."

They rode forward and passed a large clump of rocks that Ellie knew concealed Katara and an unconscious Aang, but she made no comment. It took roughly five to eight minutes to arrive at the village. When they stopped at the entrance, they saw that it seemed deserted.

"Come out, Avatar!" Zuko called. "You can't hide from me forever."

A few people stuck their head out doors and windows to see what was going on. Then, one by one, the faces disappeared again.

"Find him."

The soldiers urged their rhinos forward and Ellie realized with a jolt that she needed to also. She quickly joined them and they rode forward through the row of houses. Then, suddenly figures flew at the from above. They were girls, dressed in green dresses and holding golden fans. They all had their faces painted white with red above their eyes. Ellie smiled a smile no one saw. It was the Kyoshi warriors!

Soon they were in chaos. Ellie was knocked off her rhino and it was hard to tell the difference between soldier and girl. She saw Suki charging towards Zuko and he turned his full attention to her. Taking this as her chance, Ellie slipped down an alley. She crept around to the back of a house and used the gutter of to climb up onto the roof. The girl stayed ducked down where no one would see her. Then she slid the mask out of the helmet and watched the fight with interest.

She couldn't see where Zuko was, but the soldiers were moving up into the village, fighting a couple of the warriors. Whenever they missed, they would set a house on fire. Then, she saw flashes of fire coming from a house to her left and then Zuko came running out into view.

"Nice try Avatar, but these little girls can't save you," he said.

"Hey!" came the voice of a boy who hadn't quite reached puberty yet. "Over here!"

Ellie, feeling like the peanut gallery, turned her head to see Aang by the statue of Kyoshi. Then, she swiveled her head to look at Zuko, and then back at Aang.

"Finally," Ellie heard faintly and then Zuko rushed forward, shooting fireballs at the monk. Aang dodged to the side and one of them hit the statue. The other went straight at Aang and he was forced to fling his staff aside and duck down to avoid it. He used air to suction a pair of fans to his hands and he directed them both at Zuko and blasted him into the house behind them.

The airbender glanced at the fans before throwing them down and running over to grab his staff. Aang flung the staff into the air and wings popped out, catching a current and lifting it up slightly. Aang jumped onto the glider and flew off, looking down at the damage the firebenders had caused. He spotted Ellie and their eyes locked for a second before he touched down behind a building. Ellie put the mask back in place and slid down off the roof and onto the ground below. She landed in a crouch and then took off to join the soldiers that were standing near Zuko.

They saw a white form rise over the rooftops and Ellie knew that the three protagonists were leaving. Zuko realized this too, for he shouted, "Back to the ship! Don't lose sight of them!"

Ellie hopped onto a rhino and they all went down the path toward the ship. After a minute or so, water rained down on them, soaking all of them thoroughly. Zuko scowled and stopped for a moment before picking up speed. They boarded the ship, but the flying bison was nowhere in sight.

"Did you find him?" Iroh asked as he walked up to greet his nephew.

Zuko scowled deeper and didn't reply. Instead, he handed the reins to his rhino to a soldier and left to pout. Ellie slid off her own rhino and scrunched her body a bit to appear as though she were cringing.

Then, in the manliest voice she could muster, she said, "I think I cracked a rib. Could you take my rhino?"

One of the soldiers nodded and took the reins. Once they had left, she took her helmet off and grinned at Iroh.

"You snuck out?" He asked incredulously. "No wonder you weren't in your room when I went to check up on you."

Ellie shrugged. "I couldn't stand not knowing what was going on."

Iroh let out a deep laugh. After a second, Ellie smiled uncertainly at him.

"You sure have nerve!" Iroh said, clapping his hand on her shoulder.

"Could you excuse me for a moment?" Ellie asked. "I'm a bit wet."

And she went to her room to take of the infernal, heavy armor.

* * *

 **We get to see more of Ellie's mischievous side in this chapter. Also, the black clothes that go with the armor come in handy much later in the story. Anyway, don't forget to review! I need more reviews, people!**

 **~LittleMissMycroft**


	5. Part 1: Spirits Aplenty

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: the Last Airbender**

* * *

 **Chapter Five: Spirits Aplenty**

Zuko and Ellie circled each other. Zuko was watching her every movement and she was painfully aware of it. After a couple months of training, Ellie learned that it made fighting a lot easier if she let her opponent do most of the fighting. Therefore, when Zuko went forward, she went backwards. Finally, Zuko made the first move by sending a fireball at her. She dodged it and sidled to the side. Zuko sent a blast and she dodged it again. They did this for some time. Ellie dodged and ducked and twisted around streams of fire. Sometimes she would have to redirect it when Zuko actually managed to predict her movements. When she did so, she would spread the energy evenly where she was not thrown off balance.

Zuko sent a large wall of fire at her and she punched her way through it to see Zuko panting heavily. Grinning, she advanced and shot blast after blast at him until he finally lost his balance and fell with a thud on the metal deck of the ship.

"Woohoo!" She shouted, jumping up and twirling in a circle.

Her hair had grown long enough to where she could pull it in a tiny ponytail to keep it out of her face. It bobbed on her head as she punched the air in triumph.

"I let you win that one!" Zuko protested defiantly.

"Sure you did," Ellie replied with a sarcastic smile. Zuko huffed and stormed off, most likely to pout again.

Iroh laughed and approached her.

"You did well," he said, "Though I think my nephew doesn't approve."

"Yeah, he definitely needs counseling sometimes," Ellie said, referring to his anger issues.

"Counseling?" Iroh asked with a confused look. Sometimes he forgot that she was from an entirely different world.

"It's where you go and see someone who helps you mentally. They do things like help you control your anger."

"How would you know this?" Iroh asked curiously.

"Oh, well," Ellie said, rubbing her neck in embarrassment. "I might have had one myself."

"Whatever for?" Iroh asked.

"I…kicked a kid once." Iroh raised his eyebrow. "…down the stairs. In the nuts. Oh, and I think I bit him."

Her face was hot with embarrassment. It seemed so childish to lash out in anger now. She had matured past that stage. Iroh however, began laughing again. Soon, she found herself laughing as well. Iroh's good nature seemed to rub off on everyone around him. Well, everyone except for Zuko, that is.

While she was thinking about her home, she wondered if that was why she was the Avatar. Maybe her world had bending too, though no one knew it, and somehow she was the Avatar. Then, Iroh interrupted her thoughts. They had walked to the bridge and the elderly man gave his nephew some information.

"The Avatar was sighted flying over the woods heading toward the mountains," he said.

OA

So Zuko decided to search the area for Aang. As they could not follow Aang in the ship when he was on land, Zuko arranged for himself, Iroh, and several soldiers to explore the region. After a little while, Ellie managed to convince Zuko that she could be valuable in his search:

"Please, can I come? Please, please, pleeeease? I won't get in your way!"

And Zuko admitted that he liked her company:

"Whatever."

So, after the ship docked, he rode into the woods and Ellie walked on foot beside the rhino with a bunch of Zuko's footmen. After an hour or so, they agreed to split up. Zuko went in one direction and, after agreeing to meet together in an hour to leave, Ellie and Zuko's footmen went the other way.

Zuko walked for a little ways before finding some white fur. Sure it belong to the Avatar's bison, he decided to find his uncle before finding the others so they could follow the trail. "Uncle! It's time to leave!" he called. "Where are you? Uncle Iroh!"

"Over here," the older man replied.

He pushed through some branches into a clearing to see Iroh sitting in a pool of steaming water.

"Uncle? We need to move on. I'm closing in on the Avatar's trail and I don't want to lose him!"

Iroh smiled and stretched his arms out comfortably. "You look tired, Prince Zuko. Why not join me in these hot springs and soak away your sorrows?"

"My sorrows cannot be soaked away! Now come on, it's time to leave!"

"Very well," Iroh said with a groan and stood up. Zuko shielded himself as he realized that his uncle was not clothed.

"On second thought, why don't you take another few minutes? But be back at the ship in half an hour, or I'm leaving without you!" and he turned and walked away.

OA

Ellie walked with the men feeling a little uncomfortable. Within twenty minutes, she was becoming tired and hungry. She pushed through some bushes and looked around, not quite sure why Zuko expected them to find Aang just sitting around in the woods. Then, she nearly jumped out of her skin as she saw a cream colored object with blue markings. It was some sort of toad and it seemed to glimmer when she glanced at it. She looked away, but then when she looked back it was gone.

Ellie blinked and shook her head as her stomach growled. She was pretty hungry. She moved on a little way and realized that the footmen had gone off somewhere else. Then, she turned to see a monkeyish face watching her, sitting cross-legged on a tree stump. She blinked, and it was gone.

Thinking she was going insane, she hastily back through the bushes and turned around, letting out a sigh. Then, she raised her eyes and saw the monkey again, this time it was standing up and wearing a robe with the hood pulled up.

"EEEEEK!" she shrieked.

"AARGH!" came another shout. She blinked and the monkey was replaced with Zuko. "Why are you screaming at me?" Zuko asked, sounding too confused to be angry.

"Where'd the monkey go?" she asked, looking around as if she expected to see it again.

Zuko looked at her as if she was insane. "Monkey? Monkeys don't live in this kind of forest."

"Oh, right," she said. "I think I'm just hungry and a little spooked out."

As if in demonstration, her stomach growled again.

"Well, it's time to head back to the ship anyway."

So she followed him. He pushed into a clearing shouting, "Uncle! Uncle, where are you?"

Ellie followed him to see a bunch of soldiers already there. Dark was falling fast.

"Sir," one of the soldiers said. "It looks like there's been a land slide."

Zuko started forward and examined the pile of rocks. Ellie noticed that Iroh's clothes were still on a branch.

"Land doesn't slide uphill," Zuko said. "Those rocks didn't move naturally. My uncle's been captured by earthbenders!"

He hopped on a rhino and a couple of soldiers did the same. Zuko ordered for two of them two come with him and the rest to return to the ship.

"I'm coming with you!" Ellie said.

Zuko looked down at her. "Fine." She stood there for a minute and Zuko watched her expectantly. "Well, what are you waiting for? Get on!"

"Oh!" she said, surprised that she was riding on the rhino. She guessed it made sense. They needed to go as fast as possible and there wasn't room on the rhinos with the soldiers.

She placed her hands on the saddle of the rhino and hoisted herself up. Then, she swayed unsteadily and had to place a hand on Zuko's shoulder to steady herself. He turned his head slightly and looked at her. She quickly took her hand off. Then, he faced forward and they got on a path and followed the tracks of ostrich-horses.

They rode in silence for a while as night set in completely. Zuko finally stopped the rhino and told his men to set up camp for the night when Ellie had almost fallen off the saddle as she dozed slightly. They were due to return search the next morning. Then they got back on the road and had only travelled a few feet before coming to a sandal that lay in the center of the road.

Zuko slid off their rhino and held it up with two fingers and sniffed it. He reeled back and made a face.

"That's Uncle Iroh, all right," he said.

He climbed back onto the rhino and they took off on the trail again. Zuko had an air of determination now that they knew they were on the right track. They travelled a little while longer in silence. Then Ellie, who hated silences,tried to make conversation.

"So," she said, trailing off.

"What?" Zuko asked curtly.

"I don't know," she snapped in return. She slumped in the saddle before muttering, "It's just too quiet."

Zuko took in a deep breath but didn't say anything in return. Ellie figured he was trying to control his an anger. They rode on for another moment or two. Ellie leaned back and watched the branches overhead as they passed through them. Ellie realized that she didn't feel uncomfortable around Zuko.

She thought about her predicament. She didn't really have to avoid Zuko, did she? No. She only needed to make sure he didn't see her bending anything other than fire. Ever since she had been practicing, she hadn't lashed out with water, she had been using fire. Ellie figured that this meant she could stop avoiding the only other person her age she got to socialize with.

Then, something long and blue flew overhead and she accidentally let out a little gasp. Aang was riding on its back and as he passed overhead, their eyes caught again for the briefest of seconds. Zuko then turned around.

"What is it?" He asked.

"Roku's dragon,"she said as she realized that was what she had seen.

"What?" He asked, sounding confused.

She turned her head from the sky and directed her eyes into the trees. "Nothing."

They moved past the trees and started up the side of a rocky, dry mountain. Ellie glanced down the mountain to see a giant trail of dust. Following were three earth benders wearing large helmets.

"Look!" She shouted and pointed. The dust cleared and Zuko looked down just in time to see the dust clear to show Iroh half buried in dust and surrounded by earthbenders.

"Uncle Iroh!" Zuko exclaimed.

They watched the soldiers get Iroh to his feet and take him into an enclosure surrounded by huge boulders.

Zuko abandoned the rhino altogether and began half running, half sliding down the mountain. Ellie watched for a second before going after him. She rolled and slid and rocks flew in her mouth and scraped her arms. She finally managed to stand up at the base of the mountain and followed Zuko into the enclosure. They instantly jumped into action when they saw one of the men with a giant rock hanging above The retired general's hands.

Zuko leaped forward and kicked the rock right before it could slam down. Then, Ellie shot the largest blast of fire she could muster at one of the other earthbenders. The man toppled over and she turned to one of the other soldiers with her hands held out in front of her. She then started dueling the other soldier while Zuko kicked straight through the chains binding Iroh. Ellie felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand up. She found herself grinning as she rolled out of the way and shot a blast of fire to the man. He pulled up a rock to shield himself last minute,but the force of the blow send him back into the wall of the enclosure. Rock then crumbled away and buried him up to his chest.

Iroh and Zuko were standing still, gaping. She had just taken on three fully powered earthbenders on her own while Zuko was freeing his uncle. She was still grinning that wide, sadistic grin.

"You seemed like you were enjoying yourself,"Iroh said slowly.

Ellie stopped. "I was," she murmured thoughtfully. That was odd. She had never wondered why she enjoyed getting into fights.

Zuko turned to Iroh. "Would you please put on some clothes, now?"

* * *

 **Well, that's it. This is my adaptation of the Winter Solstice. Obviously since Ellie is an Avatar, she has the ability to see spirits. I figured some would be out and about other than Hai bai since it was near the Solstice. Next to come: Winter Solstice Part Two, Avatar Roku.**

 **~LittleMissMycroft**


	6. Part 1: At Roku's Temple

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar the Last Airbender**

* * *

 **Chapter Six: At Roku's Temple**

After they had retrieved Iroh, they made their way to the village the Avatar had been sighted flying near. The leader was wearing a green robe and had his hair in a topknot on his head. He let out a sigh and put a hand up to his tired face.

"Having trouble sleeping?" Zuko asked curtly. Then he shoved the man through the open door way, knocking him over. "Seen the Avatar lately?"

"No!" He exclaimed, but Zuko noticed that he said it a bit too quickly.

He shot a white hot flame out of his fist and grasped the collar of the man's shirt. The prince held the flame close enough to the man's face to make him feel uncomfortable.

"I would rethink your answer," he said in a deadly quiet voice.

"He's going to Roku's island!"

Zuko dropped the leader of the village roughly and he fell to the ground with a thud. Then he stormed out of the room. The group of three made their way back to the ship, where Zuko ordered to leave as quick as possible. The ship was moving very fast and they sailed into open waters.

"Sailing into Fire Nation waters," Iroh muttered. "Of all the foolish things you've done in your sixteen years, Prince Zuko, this is the most foolish!"

Zuko, who had been holding a telescope to spot the Avatar's bison, set it down slightly. "I am chasing the Avatar! My father will understand why I am returning home!"

"You give him too much credit," the Dragon of the West said. "My brother is not the understanding type!"

Zuko lifted the telescope up to his eye again and then said, "There they are. Helmsman! Full steam ahead!"

Zuko had a catapult raised to the deck where they were standing. On it was a large rock, covered in oil and tar. Some men set it on fire.

"Really, Prince Zuko," Iroh said, waving a fan in his face. "Couldn't you shoot them down with something more fragrant?"

Zuko, who wasn't listening, shouted, "On my mark….Fire!"

One the guards cut the rope that held the catapult down and the flaming stone flew into the air. As they drew closer, gaining speed, the bison seemed to grow larger and larger. Ellie saw it swerve out of the way of the fireball. Zuko looked down from the sky to see a line of enormous ships.

"A blockade," he said.

Iroh was stroking his beard and he said hastily, "technically you are still in Earth Kingdom waters. Turn back now and they cannot arrest you!"

Zuko watched the Avatar plunge ahead. He knew all too well that he could be arrested, but was too focused on capturing Aang that he didn't worry about it.

"He's not turning around!" Zuko shouted.

"Please, Prince Zuko! If the Fire Nation captures you, there's nothing I can do! Do not follow the Avatar."

The hotheaded prince bowed his head. "I'm sorry, Uncle," his head snapped back up. "Run the blockade!"

As they drew closure, still gaining speed, the sky looked like it was flaming. Then, Ellie realized that there were hundreds of fire balls flaming towards them. They left behind a huge trail of smoke. As they rained down, some narrowly missed the ship. Then a single fireball exploded on the aft side of the ship.

The engineer shouted, "Prince Zuko! The engines are damaged! We need to stop and make repairs!"

Zuko whirled to face the blockade, away from the man.

"Do _not_ stop this ship."

Ellie was watching Appa. She saw a fireball almost hit them, but Aang kicked it and it exploded. They were a cloud of dust and then Ellie saw Aang swerve out of the dust. Then, a figure fell from the sky bison. The girl knew that it was Sokka. Aang steered Appa down and he grabbed Sokka, pulling him back into the saddle. Then,they soared high and passed over the blockade,

Meanwhile, Iroh was shouting, "We're on a collision course!"

"We can make it!" Zuko replied with determination.

The two huge ships that were heading toward each other suddenly stopped to let Zuko pass. As they passed by, Zuko looked up to see Zhao staring down at him. They watched each other until the ship had passed through completely. Iroh started stroking his beard with a thoughtful expression. There was a moment of silence. Zuko's knuckles whiten as they tightened on the railing.

"What's he up to, Uncle?" Zuko asked. "Why didn't Commander Zhao arrest me?"

"Because he wants to follow you. He knows you'll lead him to the prize you're both after. The Avatar."

"If Zhao wants to follow a trail of smoke, then that's exactly what I'll let him do," Zuko growled.

Soon Zuko was being lowered down the side of the ship in a small vessel.

"Uncle," he said as the boat hit the water. "Keep heading north. Zhao will follow the smoke trail, while I use it as a cover."

Iroh grunted. Ellie leaned over the side of the ship to watch as the boat disappeared in the smoke. Zuko drove the boat north as well, and then after nearly an hour he switched courses. Certain that Zhao was following his uncle, Zuko drove another hour and a half to the temple. Then he climbed up the steps and went in. Guessing that the monk was wanting to speak with his predecessor, Zuko made his way to the sanctuary.

Luck was favoring him that afternoon. As he entered the cavernous room that held the entryway to the sanctuary, he saw the Avatar hiding behind a pillar. He wasn't paying attention and was peering around the large column.

Zuko silently walked forward. Then, he clamped one hand on the airbender's mouth to prevent him from crying out, and he used his other arm to hold the boy. In the front of the room, there was a commotion and Zuko could hear grunts and odd noises that the lemur made. Then a male voice said, "Now, Aang."

Then a younger voice, that Zuko knew to belong to the Water Tribe girl, said, "Aang! Now's your chance!"

Zuko released the boy's mouth and stepped out from behind the pillar.

"The Avatar's coming with me," he said over his shoulder as he steered a struggling Aang away from them. The Fire Sages grabbed the others to keep them from escaping. "Close the doors. Quickly!"

Zuko had almost gotten the Avatar to the stairs when the boy wrenched his arms out of Zuko's hands, ducked under his arm, and kicked him in the back, sending Zuko down the stairs. The prince landed with a thud and he grunted in pain.

OA

Aang ran as fast as he could toward the door. Then he hopped over the Fire Sages and dove sideways through the quickly closing gap. As soon as his foot had passed through the doors, they snapped shut. Aang got to his feet to see a giant statue of Roku. Behind the statue were enormous metal flames. There was a beam of light filtering through a gem on the wall, hitting the statue square in the chest.

"The light hits the statue and I talk to Roku. So why isn't anything happening?" He asked. He stood there a moment, looking at the statue. Then he lost his composure. "Why isn't anything happening? I don't know what I'm doing! All I know is airbending! Please Avatar Roku, talk to me!"

The light then spread across the whole statue and its eyes glowed white as it was completely illuminated by the sun. White smoke filled the room and when it dissipated, Aang found himself standing on a mountain top with Avatar Roku facing him.

"It's good to see you, Aang," he said. "What took you so long?"

Aang bowed respectfully to his new mentor.

OA

Ellie sat in her room with five candles set out in front of her. As she meditated, the candles were swelling when she breathed in. Her eyes were closed and her face was emotionless. Her hair, which now nearly reached her shoulders, was falling into her face. The room was silent and Ellie felt almost as if she wasn't inside her body. Her conscience was gone and not a single thought flitted through her mind.

Then suddenly her eyes snapped open, glowing orange. To her, when she opened her eyes she saw not the room she was sitting in, but a forest. She blinked in confusion for a second. This had never happened before. Then, she realized that it was probably because it was the Winter Solstice. The line between the Spirit World and the normal world had blurred together completely. This meant that when she was meditating, she had accidentally reached the Spirit World.

When she realized this, she stood up and looked around. The forest she was in seemed wild and overgrown. She was sitting in a clearing where sun was shining on her. The rest of the forest was dark and mysterious. Not wanting to leave the sunlight just yet, she stood there and looked for a pathway. There wasn't one. Then, something suddenly hurtled into her.

"Gaaah!" She shouted as she toppled over and landed in a heap on the ground. She looked up to see a cross between a kangaroo and a deer hopping away. She sighed and stood up. She had a feeling she was there for a reason, but she had no idea what it was. "Why am I even here?"

As if in response to her question, a girl appeared in front of her. She seemed young for a spirit and she looked as if she was only nine or ten years old. The spirit had pale pink skin and magenta hair. Her eyes were purple, but there was no pupil or white in her eyes. She had magenta hair and wore a dress that seemed to be made of a giant, pink pansy. Her hair flounced around her as she moved.

"Who are you?" Ellie asked.

The little spirit smiled happily. "My name is Ai. I was sent here to retrieve you."

OA

"Why did you help the Avatar?" Zuko asked the traitorous Fire Sage.

"Because it was once the sages' duty," the man replied. "It is still our duty."

Zuko turned at the sound of slow clapping to see Zhao standing there. Behind him was half a dozen men.

"What a moving and heartfelt performance," he said. "I'm sure the firelord will understand when you explain why you betrayed him. And Prince Zuko. It was a noble effort, but your little smoke screen didn't work. Two traitors in one day. The firelord will be pleased."

As he said this, a soldier stepped forward and restrained Zuko.

"It's too late, Zhao!" Zuko exclaimed. "The Avatar's inside and the doors are sealed."

"No matter. Sooner or later, he has to come out."

OA

"Sozin's comet will return before the end of the summer," Avatar Roku was saying to Aang. "And Firelord Ozai will use its power to end the war once and for all. If he succeeds, even the Avatar won't be able to restore balance to the world. Aang, you must defeat the firelord before the comet arrives."

OA

Zuko was tied to one of the pillars beside the traitor and the Avatar's two friends. All of Zhao's men were spread out and holding their hands up in preparation to ambush the Avatar.

"When those doors open, unleash all the firepower you have," Zhao said.

"How's Aang gonna make it out of this one?" Katara

"How are _we_ gonna make it out of this?" Sokka asked.

The doors opened and a bright light emitted from the sanctuary.

Zuko turned and inched around the column slightly.

"Ready…fire!"

All of the fire benders let out huge streams of fire. They all met together inside the other room in a great flaming ball. Then the fire was bended up in a ring to reveal Avatar Roku. Roku directed the fire back at them. It was so strong that it melted the chains that held Zuko. The moment he realized he was free, Zuko took off running and didn't look back.

OA

"Retrieve me?" Ellie asked.

Ai nodded excitedly, still smiling.

"Follow me!" She chirped. Then she began flouncing into the forest. A pathway appeared as she entered it and the sun started shining through the trees. Flower buds lined the pathway and as Ai passed, they opened and emitted little hearts. Ellie gaped at them as she passed. Then she looked up the pathway to see that she had lagged behind her guide.

She ran to catch up and the asked, "So what are you the spirit of?"

"I'm the spirit of love!" Ai said happily. When she said the word love, she jumped up and flew forward several feet, laughing.

Ellie had to run to catch up with her again.

"So, uh, where are we going?"

"You'll see!" Ai exclaimed.

Ellie groaned.

The two of the continued walking. After an hour or maybe it was five minutes, they left the forest and walked across a grassy plain. Then they came upon a swamp. they walked to a spot in the swamp where Ellie was standing in ankle deep water. She glanced around at the huge trees on either side of her that had vines and moss all over them. When she looked back to where Ai was standing, she realized the little spirit had disappeared.

"Ai?" She asked.

Ellie started forward and climbed up the base of an enormous tree. Then she found herself standing on the ledge in front of a hollow. Thinking that maybe Ai had gone in the hollow, she climbed into the hole and down a slight slope into a large burrow inside the tree. She could hear an odd clicking noise in the distance, but Ai was not in the hollow. Then, a shadow passed over her as the entrance to the hollow was blocked and Ellie heard a voice that made her skin crawl.

"Welcome to my hollow, stranger," it said.

Ellie knew without having to turn around who's hollow she had stumbled into. It was Koh's. Koh the Face Stealer. Luckily, Ellie had a pretty good poker face. For years she had learned not to show her emotions. So when she took a deep breath, all emotions slid off of her face. Then she turned to face him. He looked like a giant centipede with a mask for a face. She knew that this was his original face.

Then she bowed, hoping that this would make him like her more.

"Hello, Koh," she said.

"You are a strange one," he said, circling around her. "You shouldn't exist."

Confusion bubbled in her chest, but she forced her face to remain passive.

"What do you mean?" She asked, just managing to keep the fear and confusion out of her voice.

"I think you know what I mean," he replied.

Ellie grew angry at this. She honestly had no idea. But still her face remained emotionless.

"It's been a while since I've added a child's face to my collection," he said. "What can I help you with?"

Ellie remembered that he was one of the older spirits. Koh was the only one Roku knew of that would know about the moon and ocean spirits. Maybe he could tell her how she was the Avatar. If not, he would certainly be able to tell her who would know.

"Do you know how there are two Avatars?" She asked.

"Yes. Only the older spirits remember," Koh said mysteriously. Ellie perked up in excitement, but slumped down when she realized that he wouldn't tell her. "But you aren't ready yet. I will tell you this: Wan Shi Tong's Library holds more than calendars and old scrolls."

He then moved out of the way of the entrance hole in indication that she was now permitted to leave. Pondering what he said, Ellie made her way to climb out the hole. Just before she had left, she paused as Koh said, "You will have to face trials before your work is done. You must look deep inside yourself and find your true identity to overcome the darkness within."

Ellie nodded once before hopping through the hole and sliding back down the tree. Then she wandered around, trying to find how to get out of the Spirit World. When she saw the archway that Aang would come through at the North Pole, she thought fast. She sat down under the arch and crossed her legs. Then she began to meditate.

Her eyes snapped open and Ellie jumped up. When she saw not her bedroom for the second time that night, she groaned internally. Of course she had come out at the North Pole. She looked down at her hands to see that they were orange and see through.

"I need to return to my body," she said. Then in a flash of orange, she was soaring through the sky. The next moment she had returned to her body.

With a groan she opened her eyes and stood up. There was someone banging on her door. Ellie leapt to her feet, dashed over to the door, and wrenched it open.

Iroh looked at her from the other side.

"I wanted to make sure you were all right," he said.

"Why?" She asked warily.

"There was an orange glow coming from your room."

"That must have been my candles," Ellie replied, indicating to the five candles that she had been meditating with.

Iroh regarded her, doubt showing on every line of his face.

Ellie slumped her head.

"All right," she said. The girl looked up and down the hallway to make sure they were alone. Then she said in a whisper, "I just came back from the Spirit World."

And after some prompting, she told him about Ai and how the spirit had led her to the swamp, about how she had climbed into a hollow nearby, and finally about what Koh had said. By the end of her tale, Iroh was stroking his beard thoughtfully.

Then banging could be heard from above.

"It seems my nephew has returned," Iroh said.

Ellie giggled.

* * *

 **So the plot thickens with a good little mystery and a riddle. Leave to Koh to be mysterious, creepy, and not very helpful all at once. Now, review what you think!**

 **~LittleMissMycroft**


	7. Part 1: Double Crossers

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: the Last Airbender**

* * *

 **Chapter Seven: Don't Double Cross the Double Crossers**

Ellie and Zuko were dueling again. As it had been getting warmer, they had shed the long, thick robes/armor. Ellie was practicing in the clothes she had arrived in. When she put them on that morning, she had spent five minutes reminiscing the fact that it had been almost half a year since she had been dumped into the water by Zuko's ship. Much had changed since then. At that time, she had no idea what was going on and she was constantly bullied by Zuko. Now she was almost as good at firebending as he was and he had been treating her civilly ever since the Winter Solstice.

And speaking of Zuko, he was wearing a sleeveless shirt as well and she was having trouble concentrating. When he punched fire out of his fists, she couldn't help but stare as the well-toned muscles in his arms rippled. She shook her head when he kicked fire at her but as she directed it away from her, the ship veered to the side, causing the two of them to topple sideways into the railing.

"Someone's changing our course," Zuko said. He marched all the way up to the bridge. Ellie followed curiously. "What is this mutiny? No one told you to change course!" shouted.

Ellie forced herself not to giggle. It would only make Zuko more angry.

"Actually someone did."

Ellie glanced around and saw Iroh sitting across from one of the men, playing pai sho. It was he that had spoken.

"I assure you that it is of utmost importance, Prince Zuko."

"Does it have something to do with the Avatar?" Zuko asked hopefully.

"Even more urgent," the retired general replied. "It seems I—I've lost my lotus tile."

"Lotus tile?"

"For my pai sho game. Most people think the lotus tile is insignificant, but it is essential for my game."

"You've changed our course for a stupid lotus tile?"

Ellie had to choke back laughter once again.

"See you, like most people, underestimate its value. Just give me ten minutes to check the merchants at this port. Hopefully it will be in stock and I can get on with my life." Zuko huffed and breathed fire at the ceiling angrily. "I'm lucky to have such an understanding nephew."

Ellie finally lost her battle and fell out in a fit of giggles so violent that both fire benders stopped and stared at her in surprise.

OA

Aang and Katara were leaning up against a shop, waiting on Sokka. Ever since the Solstice, Katara had been teaching Aang little waterbending moves she had taught herself. The only problem was that when creating a giant wave, Aang accidentally bended all of their supplies down stream.

"We've got exactly three copper pieces left from the money King Bumi gave us," Sokka said as he joined them. "Let's spend it wisely."

Aang stood up. "Make that two copper pieces. I couldn't say no to this whistle." He held up a whistle that was shipped like a flying bison. Then he raised it to his lips and drew in a deep breath. Sokka plugged his ears, expecting a loud shrill noise, but no sound came out when Aang blew on it.

"It doesn't even work," he said. Momo, who had been sitting on the airbender's shoulder, chattered angrily. "See? Even Momo thinks it's a piece of junk."

"No offense, Aang, but I'll hold the money from now on," Katara said.

Aang pouted and dug the money out of his belt.

As they rounded a street corner, they could hear the shouts of a man trying to sell his wares.

"Earth Nation. Water Nation. Fire Nation! So long as bargains are your inclination, you're welcome here!" The man looked around to see no one was coming. "Don't be shy, come on by!"

As the three of them walked past, he hurried up to them.

"I can see from your exotic clothing that you are world travelers! Perhaps I can interest you in some exotic curios?"

"Sure! What are curios?" Aang asked.

"I'm not sure," the man replied. "But we have 'em!"

OA

They docked at the nearest port late in the afternoon. While Iroh was searching for a lotus tile, Ellie followed Zuko. Currently he was leaning up against the side of a shop. His arms were crossed and a scowl was etched firmly on his face.

"I'm sure he won't take long," Ellie reassured him.

Zuko's scowl deepened. "Knowing Uncle, he probably _will_ take a while."

"Why not shop while you wait?" Ellie asked.

"I—"

"Yeah, yeah," she said, interrupting him. "You'd rather be searching for the Avatar. But you can't very well do so here. So you might as well find _some_ way to pass the time."

"Like what?" He asked curtly.

"Like…" Ellie said, trailing off slightly as she leaned around him to look into the shop. Then she grabbed a knife from the rack closest to her. "Ooh! You could always use one of these!"

"Quit teasing me!" He snapped, snatching the knife out of her hands and slamming it back onto the shelf. They stood there in silence for a minute before he finally said in a quieter and much calmer voice, "I already have one anyway."

He pulled a knife out of his belt and handed it to her. She inspected it for a moment and Zuko watched her. Then, she read the inscription on the side.

"Never give up without a fight." She handed it back to him with a little "hmpf".

"What?" he asked defensively.

"I dunno. Fighting always seemed childish to me."

"What about wars?"

"Okay, correction: fighting out of anger."

Iroh finally returned at that statement.

"I've checked all the shops in this pier. Not a single tile in this entire marketplace!" he grumbled.

Zuko stiffened and crossed his arms again.

"Nice to see that this trip was a complete waste of time for _everyone_ ," he said, ending with a shout.

"Quite the contrary," Iroh replied. "I always say that the only thing better than finding what you were looking for, is finding something you _weren't_ looking for!"

"Like this!" Ellie exclaimed, grabbing the knife again. "I want to buy this!"

"No!" Zuko shouted, grabbing it out of her hands again. She scowled. "We're _leaving."_

Several soldiers walked past them holding piles of merchandise.

"You bought a tsungi horn?" Zuko asked, stopping short at the sight of it.

"For music night!" Iroh replied emphatically. He led the way back towards the ship. "Now if only we had some wood winds."

OA

After they escaped the Pirates that had begun chasing them, the three of them returned to the waterfall where Aang and Katara had practiced waterbending.

"I used to look up to pirates, but those guys are terrible.

"I know," Katara said mischievously. "That's why I took this!"

She held up a scroll they had spotted in the pirates' shop.

"No way!" Aang exclaimed.

"Isn't it great?" Katara asked, proud of herself.

"No wonder they tried to hack us up!" Sokka scolded. "You stole the waterbending scroll!"

"I prefer to think of it as high risk trading," Katara replied with a smirk on her face.

OA

Within two feet of where they started, Iroh was distracted again. He pointed to a large wooden ship.

"Oh, this place looks promising!"

Before Zuko could protest, his uncle ran off in the direction of the wooden ship. With a shrug, Ellie followed. Finally, Zuko joined them with a huff. As they entered, Zuko could hear a man talking to the captain.

"We lost the Water Tribe girl and the bald monk she was traveling with."

Zuko turned and asked excitedly, "This monk, did he have an arrow on his head?"

Iroh, who had been examining a monkey with rubies for eyes, turned around and impersonated its facial expression.

They agreed with the pirates that Zuko would let them have the scroll as long as they would help him find Aang. So with that decided, Zuko took his smaller boat and had it taken alongside the pirate ship.

"Shouldn't we stop to search the woods?" The pirate captain asked.

"We shouldn't have to stop," Zuko replied. "They stole a waterbending scroll, right?"

The pirate grunted in reply and nodded.

"Then they'll be on the water."

The boat went around a bend in the river. They could hear a girl's voice echoing across the silent waters.

"Ugh, ugh, ugh! Shoot! Come on water, work with me here! Ow!"

Zuko's boats banked on the side of the river. The pirates were already on land. Zuko heard the cries of the girl and he hopped off the boat and went around to where she was. He saw her waterbend a pirate and as she turned around, he grabbed her wrist.

"I'll save you from the pirates." He growled.

Ellie and Iroh got out of the boat they had been riding in and the rest of the pirates got out of their ship. Zuko tied Katara to a tree and he and his men stood on one side while the pirates were several feet away. Ellie stayed behind Iroh, slightly wary of letting Team Avatar see her. Luckily Katara was too intent on being angry at Zuko.

"Tell me where he is," Zuko was saying, "and I won't hurt you or your brother."

"Go jump in the river!" Katara retorted.

Zuko titled his head slightly, noting that force wouldn't work. He decided to try a different method.

"Try to understand," he said, starting forward. "I need him to restore something I've lost. My honor. And in return, I'll give you something you've lost."

He held up a blue choker with a Water Tribe pendant on it. Katara's eyes widened in surprise.

"My mother's necklace!" She exclaimed. "Where did you get that?"

Zuko stepped back with a smirk. "I didn't steal it, if that's what you're thinking. Tell me where he is."

"No!"

The pirate captain stepped forward. "Enough of this garbage. You promised us the scroll!"

Zuko pulled the scroll out. "I wonder how much this is worth,"he said, lighting a fire beneath it.

"No!" One of the pirates cried out and they all took a step forward.

"A lot, apparently. Now you help me find what I want, you'll get this back, and everyone will go home happy. Search the woods for the boy and meet back here."

The pirate turned to do so.

"Fine," he muttered.

They all went off into the woods and Iroh, Ellie, Zuko,and his men stood there waiting. They could hear the sounds of fighting in the distance. Gradually the cove grew lighter as dawn arrived. Finally, they returned with Aang and Sokka.

"Good work," Zuko said, stepping forward to hand over the scroll.

"I'm sorry, Aang. This is all my fault," Katara said.

"No, Katara, it isn't," Aang replied.

"Yeah, it kind of is," Iroh said. Ellie snorted.

"Give me the boy," Zuko said.

"Give us the scroll," the pirate returned.

Sokka leaned forward to look at the pirate captain.

"You're really going to hand over the Avatar for a stupid piece of parchment?"he asked.

"Don't listen to him!" Zuko exclaimed, pointing an accusing finger at the teen. "he's just trying to turn us against each other!"

"Your friend's the Avatar?"

"Sure is," Sokka replied, walking over to Aang as the pirate turns to face him. "And I'm sure he'll fetch more on the black market than that fancy scroll."

"Shut your mouth, you Water Tribe peasant!" Zuko shouted.

"Yeah Sokka, you really should shut your mouth," Aang said.

"I'm just saying," Sokka said happily. "It's bad business sense. I'm sure the firelord'll pay a ton for the Avatar. You guys would be set for life."

They all looked excited at this.

"Keep the scroll. We can buy a hundred with the reward we'll get for the kid," the captain said.

"You'll regret breaking a deal with me," Zuko said.

Then he and two of his men firebended at them.

One of the pirates ran forward, throwing smoke bombs at them. Then a couple of the soldiers ran forward to grab Aang and they were suddenly surrounded by angry pirates. They too threw down smoke bombs and the men had no idea where their opponents were. Meanwhile, Momo ran down the tree Katara was tied to and chewed through the rope that held her.

"Thanks, Momo, I owe you a bushel of apples," and she ran to find Aang, who had just had his own ropes cut by stray spears.

Zuko backed out of the huge cloud of smoke and began dueling the captain. One man pulled the scroll out from Zuko's belt, but Momo snatched it back. Then the captain's iguana parrot chased after him, knocking the scroll out of his paws and it hurtled into the cloud of smoke.

Ellie was in the smoke, holding her own. She was surrounded by fighting pirates. They all were throwing daggers, spears, and nets at her, but she dodged all of them with a wide grin on her face. Then she spun in a circle with fire blasting out around her. All of the men that had surrounded her toppled over.

Sokka found an abandoned dagger and sawed his ropes off.

"Aang! Where are you?"he shouted.

Aang jumped up over the cloud of smoke, but no one could see him.

"I'm over here!"

"Where?" Sokka called back. "I can't find you!"

Aang bent the smoke away from him to reveal a bunch of pirates that were surrounding him.

"Uh, never mind!" He cried. "I'll find you!"

"Iroh!" Ellie shouted only feet away from them. "Zuko! Where are you?"

A hand closed around her wrist.

"It's _Prince_ Zuko to you!"

"Zuko!" She exclaimed in surprise.

Instead of retorting, he shook his head. Then the two of them ran over to Iroh.

Just as Sokka crawled out of the smoke, Aang leapt out over him, shouting, "run!"

The two boys ran up to see Katara pushing on the pirate ship.

"Katara!" Aang exclaimed. "You're okay!"

"Quick!" She said to them. "I need help getting this boat back in the water!"

Aang and Sokka darted forward and the three of them pushed with all their might.

"It would take a team of rhinos to get that thing to move!" Sokka grumbled.

"A team of rhinos," Aang said with a pause. "Or two waterbenders."

The pirate captain darted forward with his sword and tried to duel Zuko again. Iroh darted between them and pushed them apart.

"Are you two too busy to see that your own ship has set sail?" He shouted.

"Uncle!" Zuko complained. "Now is not the time for your proverbs!"

"It's not a proverb!" Ellie exclaimed, pointing. Both Zuko and the captain turned to see Team Avatar sailing away in the pirate ship.

"Bleeding hogmonkeys!" The pirate exclaimed, dashing after his shop.

Zuko let out a laugh and pointed at the ship. Then he turned just in time to see the rest of the pirates making faces at him from his own boat.

"Hey!" He shouted. "That's _my_ boat!"

As he too ran off, Iroh said thoughtfully, "Maybe it _should_ be a proverb."

Aang watched as the pirates grew closer.

"Sokka! Can't you make this thing go any faster?"

"I'm trying! This thing wasn't made by the Water Tribe!"

The pirates drew level with the ship and a couple of them hopped over the railing. Aang bent a giant wave over the deck of the boat that swept them off again. Two remained at the steering wheel and they both began wrestling with Sokka. Aang leapt over to help. He airbended them off the ship. The he ran over to help Sokka up.

"Aang! Look!" Katara shouted.

He and Sokka looked up to see that the ship was at the edge of a waterfall. Desperately, Aang fished around to find something that would help. He pulled out the bison whistle. The airbender then blew on it as hard as possible.

"Have you gone insane?!" Sokka shouted. "This is no time for flute practice!"

The ship just started to go over the edge. The three of them toppled into the railing at the front bough, but then the next moment, they were falling off the deck and onto Appa's back.

"I knew a bison whistle would come in handy."

Zuko dashed to the cliff and looked down at the wreckage at the bottom of the waterfall. Ellie stopped beside him and Iroh brought up the rear, panting heavily.

"My boat!" Zuko exclaimed.

Iroh put his hands in his sleeves before smiling.

"Prince Zuko, you'll never believe this," he panted. Zuko and Ellie both turn to look at him. "The lotus tile was in my sleeve the entire time!"

Zuko turned around and stared down with his jaw clenched. He began panting heavily and Ellie watched, concerned. Then he whirled around, snatched the tile out of his uncle's hand, and hurled it with all of his might down into the water below.

* * *

 **So there is the seventh chapter. We get some insight on how Ellie is doing. Now, be sure to review your thoughts and questions.**

 **~LittleMissMycroft**


	8. Part 1: Cabin Fever

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: the Last Airbender**

* * *

 **Chapter Eight: Cabin Fever**

 _I want to rip. I want to hurt. I want to destroy!_

 _No! Won't let me go. Can't go. But oh, I want to._

 _I want to escape._

 _Escape!_

 _ESCAPE!_

OA

Ellie bolted upright in her bed as she woke abruptly from her dream. She tried to remember the eerie man's voice that had been shouting in her head, but as she tried to latch onto what he said, it slipped away like sand through her fingers. Ellie sighed and lay back onto her bed. She was so awake, however, that she could not fall back asleep. The young teen sighed. It was going to be a long night.

OA

"Look at those clear skies, buddy! Should be some smooth flying," Aang was saying to Appa, his flying bison.

Katara and Sokka were both packing up camp. Katara picked up their bag of food and turned it over, dumping crumbs on the ground. Momo flew down to eat them. Katara walked up Appa's tail to join the boys in the saddle.

"Well we'd better smoothly sail ourselves to a market, cause we're out of food."

Sokka stopped tying the sleeping bags and turned to face the other two as Katara sat down at the front of the saddle.

"Guys, wait this was in my dream. We shouldn't go to the market," he said seriously.

"What happens in your dream?" Katara asked.

"Food eats people."

OA

Ellie sat at the breakfast table, picking at her food. She let out a tired sigh.

"Are you all right?" Iroh asked.

Zuko stopped and looked at her as well, slurping noodles into his mouth.

"Yeah," she replied. "I just had a weird dream."

The other two nodded and returned to their meals. When they finished eating, the three of them went up to the main deck. Ellie smiled and breathed in the salty air. She smiled and looked around at the perfect, cloudless sky. The water shimmered merrily and she couldn't help but feel less distracted.

Iroh however was stroking his beard with a concerned look on his face.

"There is a storm coming," he said. "A big one."

"What are you talking about?" Zuko asked. He too was affected by the sunny atmosphere. "The weather's perfect! Just the kind of day that I might catch the Avatar!"

"A storm is approaching from the northwest. I suggest we alter our course and head south."

Zuko frowned and took on a solemn look "The Avatar is heading northward. We will do the same."

"Prince Zuko," the elderly man pleaded. "Consider the safety of the crew."

Just as Lieutenant Jee walked on board, Zuko exclaimed, "The safety of the crew doesn't matter!"

Jee stopped and gave him a look. Zuko walked over to him, saying, "Finding the Avatar is more important than the safety of any individual's safety."

And he walked briskly into the room closest. Iroh glanced nervously at Jee. Trying to keep peace, he said, "He doesn't mean that. He's just all worked up."

Ellie ran down to her room and grabbed a scroll about the spirit of love. Then she ran back up into the sunshine, intending to enjoy it while reading a scroll. She didn't really need to read it, as she had already met Ai, but it was something to do. Also she liked having a laugh over any information that it got wrong. Like the fact that it had said that Ai was a big, pink armadillo flower. That was most definitely wrong.

She sat there reading for a couple hours, feeling the heat of the sun on her arms. Then, a shadow crept over her parchment. She looked up to see dark and ominous clouds stretching over the ship.

"Huh," Jee said to Zuko, crossing his arms. "Looks like your uncle was right after all."

"Lucky guess," the retired general replied light heartedly.

"Lieutenant!" Zuko snapped, cutting across his uncle. "You'd better learn some respect, or I'll teach it to you."

"What do _you_ know about respect?" Jee asked as Zuko walked away. The prince halted. Iroh made a gesture, trying to get him to stop. "The way you talk to everyone around you, from your hardworking crew to your esteemed uncle, shows you know nothing about respect!" Iroh now had his hand up to his head in exasperation. Ellie was now watching with interest. "You don't care about anyone but yourself! Then again, what should I expect for a spoiled prince?"

Zuko turned around and shifted into a basic firebending stance. Jee did the same.

"Easy now," Iroh said warily.

The two ignored him and out their wrists against each other, ready for battle and the metal on their armor began to steam.

"Stop!" Iroh , pushing them apart. "I think we are all just a little tired of being at sea for so long. I am sure that we will all feel better after a short rest."

Lieutenant Jee walked away and Zuko stormed off to his room. Iroh turned to Ellie.

"It seems it's just you and me now." Ellie smiled at him. "What are you reading?"

"A scroll on the love spirit," she replied. "Ai. I've met her once."

"What was she like?" Iroh asked excitedly.

Ellie thought for a moment. "Too happy."

Iroh laughed at her.

Later that afternoon, Iroh decided to go down below deck as it had started to rain. Not wanting to get the scroll wet, Ellie followed him. They then came upon Jee and a couple men sitting around a fire. Jee was angry enough that he didn't notice the two of them standing at the top of the stairs.

"I'm sick of taking his orders! I'm tired of chasing his Avatar! I mean, who does Zuko think he is?"

"Do you really want to know?" Iroh asked. The men below them started.

"General Iroh, we were just—"

"It's okay," Iroh replied, holding s hand up to quell his excuses. "May we join you?"

"Of course, sir," Jee said.

Iroh sat down on a stool and Ellie placed herself on the floor next to him.

"Try to understand. My nephew is a complicated young man. He has been through too much."

And he launched into Zuko's story, explaining about how he had spoken out against a warlord. He told Jee about how Zuko would have to attend an Agni Kai to tone for his speaking out of turn, but when he had arrived it was not the warlord he was to duel but his own father. Ellie stared into the fire as Iroh proceeded to explain that the firelord burned his own son. She felt as if she wasn't really all there as Lieutenant Jee spoke.

"I always thought Zuko was burned in a training accident or something."

"No. It was no accident."

Ellie had always known about Zuko's tragic backstory, but it seemed even worse now that she knew him personally. She had grown to care for him over the past months and could see the pain that filled him every time he thought of home. She distantly noted that the men had gotten up and left. She continued to stare into the fire, thoughts of Zuko swirling around in her mind. The she felt a hand rest on her shoulder.

"I know that look," Iroh said quietly to her. She looked up at him in confusion. "You are in love, my lady."

Ellie drew back in horror. The she blurted out, "I do _not_ like Zuko!"

Iroh smiled at her knowingly. Even as the words tumbled out of her mouth, she realized they weren't true. The way she had been teasing him, the way she kept thinking of him, the way she laughed at everything he did, it all told her that she loved him.

Then the preteen stood up abruptly. She jabbed Iroh in the chest. "You cannot tell him. Ever."

"I do not intend to," he relied with a smile. Then with a pat on her back, he too left.

Ellie shook her head. She couldn't like Zuko! Even if he did like her back, they would never be able to get together without altering history in some way. But then she thought of how he had been opening up to her and it made her wonder. Did Zuko like her back?

Before she could ponder this for too long, she was thrown off her feet and she slid into the base of the stairs. She regained her footing and staggered up them. The she dashed up to the main deck. She was almost forced back with the power of the storm that now battered the poor ship.

"What's going on?" She shouted over the howling wind.

"We've been hit!" Jee shouted back.

Zuko had staggered up the stairs in time to hear that statement.

"Where?" He asked.

"I don't know!"

"There!" Iroh bellowed.

"The helmsman!" Zuko shouted and the next thing Ellie knew, he and Lieutenant Jee were climbing the ladder to reach the man.

Lightning headed straight for the boat and Ellie let out a scream, but Iroh redirected it to keep it from damaging the ship. Zuko managed to get the helmsman down, but then he spotted Appa flying through the storm.

"The Avatar!" He exclaimed.

"What do you want us to do, sir?" Jee asked.

Zuko hesitated for a moment before saying, "Let him go. We need to get this ship to safety."

"Then we must head to the eye of the storm," Iroh informed them.

So Zuko's little ship battled the waves until they finally reached the eye of the storm. There, the dark storm clouds swirled in a funnel and there was a single, wide beam of sunlight shining through. Then, Appa burst out of the water beside the ship. For a moment, Zuko and Aang looked at each other. Then, the bison flew up through the eye and over the clouds all together. Zuko then turned and looked around at the damage the storm had caused on his ship.

"Uncle, I'm sorry."

"Your apology is accepted," Iroh replied.

Zuko turned to Ellie and a mischievous twinkle entered the retired general's eyes. Ellie glared at him as if to say, 'Don't you dare'. Then she cleared her throat nervously and smiled at him. Zuko gave her a weird look, perhaps noticing her awkwardness and grunted a quick, "Sorry," before heading below deck. Ellie smiled nevertheless. At least he was improving.

* * *

 **So the awkward dance between Ellie and Zuko continues. We get some insight into how she is adjusting to her new surroundings and a bit of trouble with nightmares. Up next: The Blue Spirit. Now please, please review.**

 **~LittleMissMycroft**


	9. Part 1: The Blue Spirit

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: the Last Airbender**

* * *

 **Chapter Nine: The Blue Spirit**

Ellie laid back onto her bed with a sigh. The sun had just set and she had just finished her training for the day. Who knew that firebending could be so exhausting? Fights weren't, and performing moves she already knew weren't. After a second, Ellie figured it was the stress. The stress to learn new moves. And the desire to punch Iroh's ever-so-calm face in. She didn't know why, but the fact that he kept even tones with her when she failed to perform a move infuriated her. He sounded as if he was talking to a five-year-old. It was probably the combination of the stress of trying to learn new forms _plus_ the restraint from punching something that left her so tired at the end of the day.

After coming to this conclusion, Ellie realized that she was now completely calm and even more tired if possible. So, she rolled over and closed her eyes. A smile flitted across her face as she remembered the anger Zuko had expressed when she had beaten him for the fifth time in a row that day. And with that, she fell into a happy sleep.

OA

"Absolutely not," the shorter man said. "The Yu-Yan archers stay here. Your request had been denied, Commander Zhao."

He was standing next to a taller man that sported sideburns and a wide smirk. They were both wearing fire nation uniforms.

"General Shino," the taller man, Zhao, replied. "Please reconsider. Their precision is legendary. The Yu-Yan can pin a fly to a tree a hundred yards away without killing it. You're wasting their talents using them as mere security guards."

"I can do whatever I want with their talents. They're _my_ archers and what I say goes."

"But my search for the Avatar is—"

"Is nothing but a vanity project. We're fighting a real war here, and I need every man I've got, Commander."

"But—"

"That's final! I don't want to hear another word about it!"

Zhao growled in aggravation. He didn't like not having his way. Then, there was a caw to his left. He turned and looked out to see a messenger hawk flying towards them. It landed on the general's arm and the shorter man took a scroll of parchment out of the holder on the bird's back. He looked at it, and his eyes widened in surprise.

"News from Fire Lord Ozai?" Zhao asked, spotting the seal. He stepped forward and took the letter from his superior. Then, he quickly read it through. "It appears I have been promoted to admiral. My request is now an order."

The general bowed and left to see to the command.

From above the building behind them, Zuko's eyes narrowed behind his mask in aggravation. He then left to return to his ship.

OA

"We haven't been able to pick up the Avatar's trail since the storm. But if we continue heading northeast-" Jee cut off as a shadow fell across the map he and Zuko were leaning over.

They both straightened and turned to see a massive ship float right past the window.

"What do they want?" Zuko asked.

Ellie payed no attention, but watched the game of pai sho that Iroh was playing.

"Perhaps a sporting game of pai sho," the man in question said, rubbing his hands together in anticipation.

Ellie shook her head. She wondered what episode they were on suddenly. The girl knew that they had passed "The Storm", but she had no way of telling if they had reached "The Fortune Teller"yet. That one was one of her favorites. She often wondered this, but as she was traveling with Zuko, she had no way of telling what the Avatar was doing.

A man that had gone across to Zuko's ship entered the room they were all in. Then, he opened a wanted scroll that held a picture of Aang.

"The search for the Avatar has been given prime importance. All information regarding the Avatar must be reported directly to Admiral Zhao," he said.

Iroh moved a piece on his board. "Zhao has been promoted? Good for him!" he exclaimed, not really paying attention to the conversation at all.

Ellie stopped paying attention as well when she remembered that Zhao was promoted for the last time right before he captured Aang. That meant that…

"The Blue Spirit!" she exclaimed, hopping up and down. She was glad that she finally knew what was going on.

Everyone turned and looked at her.

Zuko then turned his head away from the officer.

"I've got nothing to report to Zhao. Now get off my ship and let us pass."

"Admiral Zhao is not allowing ships in or out of this area."

"Off my ship!" Zuko shouted, pointing to the door. The soldiers turned and left.

Iroh, who still wasn't paying attention, said, scooping up pai sho chips, "Excellent! I take the pot!" The helmsman slapped his forehead in exasperation. "But you are all improving! I am certain you will win if we play again."

Zuko turned and looked out the window, his eyes narrowed once again. Ellie stepped forward and stood next to him with a smile.

"Oh, is Mr. Angstypants grumpy?" she teased him.

He let out a half snort half growl, not looking at her.

"I'm going up on deck," he said and he too left.

Ellie's smile fell. Then, she walked over to watch more pai sho.

What seemed like hours later, she and Iroh returned to the main deck to see Zuko practicing his firebending.

"Is everything okay?" Iroh asked. "It has been almost an hour since you've given the men an order."

Zuko stopped and looked down at the ground. "I don't care what they do."

"Don't give up hope yet. You can still find the Avatar before Zhao."

"How, Uncle?" Zuko pleaded, turning to the elderly man. "With Zhao's resources, it's just a matter of time before he captures the Avatar!" He turned back to face the sea. "My honor. My country. My throne. I'm about to lose them all."

Ellie stepped forward and put a hand on Zuko's shoulder. He turned and looked at her in surprise.

"Don't worry," she said with a smile. "You are too determined to let that happen. Just—play to your strengths. What do you have that Zhao doesn't?"

And with that, she walked below deck, leaving a now confused and hopeful Zuko behind her. Iroh smiled knowingly at his nephew's back before turning and leaving as well.

Zuko leaned on the railing of the ship. What _did_ he have that Zhao didn't? Friends? He cracked a smile before becoming serious again. He _did_ have stealth. If Zhao captured the Avatar, he would know and he would be able to change that. He had been sneaking into the fort after all, spying on the older man. The teen smiled. It looked like things would finally go his way.

When darkness fell, he snuck off the ship wearing only his black training clothes and his dual swords. Then, he climbed in one of his boats and slowly lowered it to the water. As he looked up at the main deck, he caught a glint of pale hair. He knew that it was Ellie's. Who else had hair that unnatural color? Occasionally Zuko wondered where it came from. Ellie herself was an oddity. She seemed to be a blend of the four nations. Only Earth Kingdom citizens had family names, but her eyes were amber like those of Fire Nation royalty. On top of that, her dark skin and high cheekbones looked purely Water Tribe.

The boy shook his head and cleared pushed the thoughts of Ellie away with difficulty. He could not afford to be distracted. When the boat hit the water, he turned it on and steered it towards land. Then, as he climbed onto the beach, he slipped his blue mask on. Zuko walked through the forest until he reached the path. Instead of walking up into the path, he ducked down and hid in the bushes, waiting. Then, five minutes later, a wagon was pulled past him. It was going pretty slow, so as it passed, Zuko rolled out and clung to the underside of the carriage. He rode underneath it until it pulled to a stop.

Light slid under the wagon as a soldier walked up to inspect it.

"All clear," he said, having checked the back. The man then walked to the side of the wagon. Quick as an eelhound, Zuko slid backwards and climbed into the back of the carriage as the man lowered himself to look where the boy had been seconds before. "All clear. Go on in."

Zuko ducked behind some boxes as the truck pulled past the guard. oThey rode past several walls, finally making it into the fort. As the truck stopped, Zuko slipped out and skirted the wall. Then, he made his way inside the main building.

Once inside, it wasn't very hard to locate where the Avatar was held. Most of the forts were made with similar layouts. Being a prince of the Fire Nation, he had been inside several of these forts. That meant that he knew exactly where the Avatar was located. He went through the sewers until he knew he was underneath where he wanted to be. Then, he crawled out of a grate. He walked to the end of the corridor and found a soldier standing guard with his back turned to him. Zuko silently darted forward and knocked the man out. His helmet rolled into the corridor that was parallel to theirs, distracting another guard.

The new man shot a blast of fire at Zuko, but he easily dodged it and swept forward to where he was within an arm's length to the soldier. He unsheathed his swords and hit the man on the head with the butt of one of them, knocking him out as well. Then, he tied them both to the ceiling and hid up there, several feet ahead. Three more guards ran forward, ready for a fight, but drew short when they spotted two men hanging form the ceiling by their wrists. Zuko took them out while they were distracted and dropped to the floor.

The teen silently ran up to a large cell door and wrenched it to the side. Inside was a boy, chained to the wall. His bald head was bowed where Zuko could see his tattooed arrow going down his neck. When the boy realized he was not alone, his head snapped up. Then, Zuko ran forward and sliced through the chains that held the boy with his two swords. The monk covered his face and Zuko quickly cut the cuffs of the chains off of the Avatar's wrists.

OA

Ellie lay in bed after music night ended, thinking. She couldn't fall in love with Zuko! He could find out that she was an Avatar and return home with her in chains. Even if he didn't find out before he was ready, he would still return to the Fire Nation and marry Mai. Who in their right mind would chose Ellie, the strange girl with strange blonde hair, over someone they had grown up with and already loved?

No one. Ellie decided. She groaned and roughly flipped onto her other side. She may as well give up.

OA

When the boy realized he hadn't been sliced to ribbons, he looked up warily.

Zuko walked toward the door.

"Who are you?" the airbender queried. "Are you here to rescue me?"

Reaching the door, Zuko turned and motioned for the boy to follow. Then, he pulled the door open and started off down the hallway.

"I'll take that as a yes." Zuko turned back down the hallway, but paused when he realized that the Avatar wasn't with him. He grabbed the boy by the collar of his shirt and dragged him to the grate that would take them out of the building. "Wait! My friends need to suck on those frogs!"

Zuko led the airbender out of the drain when he saw that the coast was clear. Then, they began climbing up the inner wall of the fort. When they reached about halfway up it, an alarm started blaring. Zuko silently cursed as someone spotted them and cut the rope they were using to scale the wall. Luckily the Avatar cushioned their fall with a pillow of air, but Zuko knew it was no time to celebrate. As soon as he regained his footing, he bolted for the gates.

"Close the gates!" came Zhao's voice from above.

"Stay close to me," the boy said, running ahead towards the soldiers that had now filled out in front of the gates. There was no time to argue and Zuko knew that the Avatar would recognize his voice, so he ran close behind the boy as he halted and blew the soldiers out of their way and headed for the first gate.

Two men ran forward to intercept the teen, but he easily sliced through their spears and pushed them out of his way. Unfortunately, more men swarmed to his side. Soon he was fighting for his life, surrounded by soldiers. Still, he held his own until the Avatar blew the men away with strong gusts of air and propelled Zuko to the top of the wall. Before he could start fighting the soldiers their, the airbender flew over the wall as well and grabbed the prince with his knees. The extra weight pulled the boy down and finally, they fell on top of the second wall with a thud. Zuko and the Avatar fought the men up their.

Then, the boy peered over the railing to see soldiers running up the wall with ladders. He ran in front of the closest one and sent a stream of air down it, causing the men to fly to the ground. He did the same with the one next to it, and then finally to the ladder where Zuko was standing in front of.

"Take this!" he shouted, shoving the two long ladders towards Zuko and the teen caught them. "Jump on my back!"

Zuko did so and the ladder the Avatar was seated on started to lean away from the wall, pushed by the momentum of Zuko's jump. Zuko smiled behind his mask. It was because of Ellie's advice that he now had the Avatar. If she could see him now—he shook his head and the smile disappeared. He couldn't be distracted. As they were getting close to falling off, the Avatar put the next ladder down and they kept moving. As they began to lean forward again, the boy shouted, "Hand me the next one!"

Jolted into action, Zuko did so and then clung to the airbender to keep from falling. Just as they were nearing the final wall, a man darted forward, and set the ladder on fire. The boy jumped and his hands caught the wall, but the added weight of Zuko on the airbender's back pulled them to the ground. Soldiers ran forward to intercept them, but just as they began firebending a great ball at them, Zhao pushed his way through shouting, "Hold your fire! I want the Avatar alive!"

Realizing their way out of this, Zuko crossed his swords under the boy's chin and put just enough pressure on his throat to make his threat clear. No Avatar, or dead Avatar.

"Open the gate," Zhao said, staring at Zuko's mask.

"Admiral!" General Shino hissed. "What are you doing?"

"Let them out! Now!"

The gate began opening and Zuko backed out, keeping his swords at the Avatar's throat. They went back five feet, ten feet. Then, Zuko saw something sail towards him. Realized too late that it was an arrow until struck the side of his mask that hid his scar. Incoherent with pain, Zuko fell back and passed out.

Aang stood froze for a moment before whipping up a cloud of dusk. Then, he reached forward and eased the mask off of his rescuer's face, revealing a familiar scar. Aang backed away in shock when he realized that it was Zuko that had saved him. Then, he began to run down the path. He turned to see the silhouettes of soldiers running towards them. The boy hesitated a moment before running forward, pulling Zuko on his back, and jumping away, using air to make the firebender seem lighter. By the time the dust cleared, they had gone.

OA

When Zuko awoke, sunlight was streaming through the trees over head. He blinked at the sky for a second before slowly lowering his gaze until he saw the Avatar sitting on a branch above.

"You know what the worst part about being born over a hundred years ago is?" the boy asked. Zuko blinked slowly and the airbender came into focus. "I miss all the friends I used to hang out with. Before the war, I had this friend named Kuzon. Together, we got into so much trouble. He was one of my best friends. And you know? He was Fire Nation. Do you think that if we knew each other back then, that we could've been friends?"

Not knowing what to do, Zuko leapt up and shot a blast of fire at him. Half expecting this, Aang darted away into the trees.

OA

Ellie sat on deck with Iroh. Then they paused their conversation as a boat was pulled into the ship. Zuko walked past without a glance at the two of them.

Not seeming to notice his not wanted to talk to them, Iroh asked, "Where have you been, Zuko? You missed music night!"

"I'm going to bed. No disturbances."

Ellie smiled at Iroh to let him know it was all right and the old man began playing his sunki horn.

OA

Zuko stared at the Fire Nation emblem as he lay in bed. Then, he abruptly turned away and shut his eyes.

* * *

 **So I haven't been updating as much since school started back, but I suppose that's all right. It's more important to get work done than writing sooo...I'm really glad I had this time to update! Now, here we have Ellie trying to impersonate Iroh in cryptic-level wisdom. At least she knows what happens. She is, of course, still adjusting to life as well. Hope you enjoyed! Up next-Bato of the Water Tribe!**

 **~LittleMissMycroft**


	10. Part 1: Perfume Shopping

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: the Last Airbender**

* * *

 **Chapter Ten: Perfume Shopping**

Iroh sat on the main deck of the ship, sipping tea. Zuko was practicing his firebending. Ellie walked up onto the deck to join Iroh. He silently poured her some tea and they watched his nephew practice. When Zuko stopped, he walked over to talk with his uncle. Iroh noticed a pale blush creep up Ellie's cheeks as the prince approached. She stood up abruptly.

"Oh, sorry Iroh. I just remembered I have a uh—a—laundry to do!" she exclaimed, flushing red as Zuko stared at her, confused.

"No, dear I'm sure you can do that later," Iroh smiled at her.

"B-but it's urgent! I have to—"

"I was going to help you learn some new forms," Iroh finished, pretending she hadn't talked straight over him. She faltered. Zuko, however looked angry.

"How come she gets to learn advanced moves and I don't!" he asked heatedly.

"Because, Prince Zuko, she actually has the patience to learn the basics. More or less any way."

Ellie grinned sheepishly. "Actually," she said. "I think I recall setting my target on fire in anger."

"But it was very strong fire," Iroh said, smiling.

Zuko huffed and stormed off deck.

"So what are you teaching me today?" she finally asked.

"I am going to teach you how to redirect lightning."

"Really?" Ellie asked excitedly, hopping up and down.

Iroh grinned at her happiness. "Yes. It is actually a technique I learned while studying waterbenders. They use their opponents own weight against them. Now, you see lightning is a pure form of firebending, without aggression. It is not by emotion the way other firebending is."

"Why don't you teach me how to create lightning instead of redirect it?" Ellie asked.

"You are not yet ready," Iroh replied. "Normally it takes years to master firebending and you are cramming it all into one trip. To create lightning you must be a master at firebending and be able to guide the lightning but not force it. Anyway, there is energy all around us. The energy is both yin and yang. Separate it, and it wants to restore balance. The two opposite energies clash together to form lightning. But lightning needs guidance. The creator of it can guide it toward where they want it to go, but you can guide it back away. If you let the energy within your own body flow, the lightning will follow it. You must create a pathway from your fingertips, up your arm to your shoulder, then down into your stomach." Iroh did a motion to demonstrate the path the lightning should take as he instructed her. "The stomach is the source of energy in your body. From the stomach, you direct it up again, and out the other arm. The stomach detour is very important. You must not let the lightning pass through your heart, where the damage could be deadly. Try a physical motion to get a feel for the pathway's flow."

He continued the motions and Ellie began to copy him, trying to flow smoothly through the motions like her teacher did. After a second, she could begin to feel her chi in her stomach flowing with her arms. It was almost like tai chi, a stress relief method her counselor had told her to try ages ago.

"Can you feel your chi move in, down, up, and out?" Iroh asked her.

"Yes," she replied. "Thank you for teaching me this," she said, bowing to Iroh as was usual.

Iroh bowed back with a smile. "I always love passing on my knowledge to those younger and more fit than I."

OA

Zuko, Ellie, and Iroh sat at the low table, each sipping a cup of tea. Iroh let out a satisfied sigh and set his cup down.

"See Prince Zuko?" he said. "A moment of quiet is good for your mental well-being."

He poured the solemn prince more tea. Zuko looked at it skeptically before raising it slowly to his lips. Then, just as he was about to take a sip, the ship jolted beneath them. Ellie, who had taken a reasonably large mouthful of the hot beverage, choked and sputtered, spraying tea everywhere. She blushed and dried herself off with her napkin as Zuko stood up and headed out of the room to see what was going on. Iroh raised his eyebrow at her and fixed her with a knowing look before following his nephew out. Ellie sighed and finally went after the two of them. When she arrived on the main deck, she saw a woman with dark hair, heavily lidded eyes, and dark lipstick on the deck of the ship, riding atop an odd mole-like creature. _A shirshu_ , Ellie reminded herself.

"Get back!" she was shouting. "We're after a stowaway!"

"There are no stowaways on my ship," Zuko grouched indignantly.

The shirshu tore away a chunk of the deck and hurled it in the prince's direction. Caught off guard, Zuko dove to the side and the metal flooring hit the doorway that Ellie had only just vacated. An angry vein ticked in Zuko's forehead.

Then, a small grungy man fled through the whole in the deck. The shirshu angrily slapped him with its tongue and he fell to the floor, unable to move.

"He's paralyzed," Zuko said, looking down at the man in surprise.

"Only temporarily," the woman replied. She lifted the man and slung him over her shoulder. "The toxins will wear off in an hour. By then, he'll be in jail and I'll have my money."

She walked over to her mount and tossed the man over its furry back.

"But how did you find him on my ship?" Zuko asked.

The woman swung onto her shirshu.

"My shirshu can smell a rat a continent away."

"Well," Iroh said. "I'm impressed." The woman cracked her whip ad rode away swiftly. The older man leaned on the railing of the ship and watched her go, stroking his beard thoughtfully. "Very impressed."

Both Ellie and Zuko turned and gave him disgusted, mortified looks. Then an idea struck Zuko.

OA

Ellie, Zuko, and Iroh walked up to a seedy looking tavern. Night had fallen and golden light spilled out of its windows. From feet away, they could hear wild cheers and loud arguments. There were some figures visible in the windows, fighting.

"Are you sure this is safe?" Ellie asked.

"I'm sure it is perfectly safe," Iroh replied.

Just then a man came soaring through the roof and landed in the bushes nearby. Zuko raised his eyebrows at his uncle and Ellie choked back a giggle. They headed inside, but many people were gathered in the doorway.

"Out of my way, filth!" Zuko shouted, shoving his way through.

Ellie followed and smirked when Iroh, who was behind her, said, "He means no offense! I am certain you bathe regularly."

They found the woman from before armwrestling a man that was sweating with concentration. "I need to talk to you!" Zuko said, walking up to her.

"Well," the woman replied. "If it isn't my new friends. Angry Boy and Uncle Lazy."

"Your beast destroyed my ship!" Zuko exclaimed."You _have_ to pay me back!"

The woman won her fight and began shoving her winnings into her money pouch.

"I'd love to help, but I'm afraid I'm a little short on money." She turned to the crowd and said, receiving cheers, "Drinks on me!"

Zuko scowled and started forward.

"Money isn't what I had in mind."

The three of them led the woman, June, outside where she had left her shirshu.

"I need you to find someone," Zuko said, holding up a blue necklace with a Water Tribe pendant on it. It was Katara's necklace!

June leaned against her beast and tossed a gold piece up and down in her right hand.

"What happened, your girlfriend run off on you?" she asked sarcastically.

Zuko started angrily and shot back, "It's not the girl I'm after, it's the bald monk she's traveling with."

"Oh, right," June replied. "I figured that you and sandy over here looked like an item."

Ellie was surprised when she realized June was indicating to her. At the exact same moment, both she and Zuko blushed and retorted, "We're not together!"

Iroh smirked and June muttered, "Whatever you say."

"If you find them, I'll consider the damage on my ship _paid for_."

June scoffed when she realized she wasn't getting a reward for his task.

"Forget it,"she said, climbing into her saddle.

"Plus we'll pay your weight in _gold_ ," Iroh added with an innocent smile. June stopped and looked at them, seriously reconsidering taking up the offer. She smiled and swung off the shirshu, walking over to the elderly man.

"Make it _your_ weight," she said, poking Iroh's stomach, "and we gotta deal."

Iroh laughed.

"Deal," Zuko muttered, still flushed a delicate pink.

"Climb on," June said, turning back to the shirshu.

Iroh climbed on first and Zuko glanced at Ellie nervously, indicating for her to climb on. She did so and he followed. Then, June took the necklace and held it in front of the beats's nose. It sniffed around for a second before taking off at a rapid speed. June swung herself into the saddle as they passed, and they were off.

They passed a herbalist near Colonel Shino's base, a village with a crazy old fortune teller, and then finally reached an abby near the coast. When they reached there, June said, "We're getting close."

She whipped her shirshu and they took off into the woods. After ten minutes, they finally found Katara and Sokka. June turned to Zuko.

"So this is the girl your tracking?" she asked him. He nodded. "I guess you were telling the truth. She's way too pretty for you."

Zuko growled and hopped off of the shirshu.

"Where is he?" he asked the two Water Tribe teens. "Where is the Avatar?"

"We split up," Sokka replied. "He's long gone."

"How stupid do you think I am?" Zuko growled.

"Pretty stupid," the other boy shot back. Then he grabbed his sister and shouted, "Run!"

They started running, but the shirshu flicked its tongue out and paralyzed the two of them.

"What are we supposed to do now?" Zuko asked.

Ellie watched the shirshu as it leaned forward and started sniffing them.

"It's seeking a different scent," June informed them. "Perhaps something the Avatar held."

The shirshu knocked Sokka's pack open an started sniffing a rolled up parchment. Then, without warning, it took off again with such speed that Ellie fell back onto Zuko. Then, she sat up as quick as possible. They rode through the gates of the abby and the shirshu broke them as it went. Nuns scattered as it ran into the square and started walking around in a circle.

"What's it doing?" Zuko asked. "It's going in a circle."

Then, the beast stood up on its hind legs, causing them all to fall off its back. The shirshu tried to stun Aang, but missed and fell over.

"Aang!" Katara shouted, looking up.

"Up!" June exclaimed, cracking her whip. The beast stood up and its owner mounted it again.

Then, the two of them charged at Aang, but Appa knocked them down. Then, the sky bison growled and snorted at them. Behind them, two nuns were dragging Sokka and Katara into the abby as Zuko and Aang faced each other. Zuko sent a blast of fire at the boy, who stopped the trail by spinning his glider. Aang sent a gust of air at Zuko, but he sidestepped it and sent two fire balls at the Avatar. Aang then threw his staff and jumped up, twisting in the air to duck around them. Then, Aang and Zuko bent their elements at each other, where the blasts hit each other and created a giant mushroom cloud and blasting both boys into roofs behind them.

Ellie had no idea what to do. Zuko and Aang were fighting, Sokka and Katara were sitting up against a wall, June had been hit by Nyla, the shirshu, and Iroh was helping her up. Then, she was struck with an idea. The girl ran to one of the nuns.

"The perfume!" she exclaimed. The nun looked at her in surprise. She was probably startled that a girl wearing Fire Nation clothes was talking to her. It didn't help that Ellie's hair was blonde. "The perfume will cancel out the shirshu's toxins!"

The nun started before grabbing a vial of perfume and giving it to the two Water Tribe teens to smell. Then, they both shot to their feet.

"That thing sees with its nose," Ellie heard him say as she back away to join Iroh. "Let's give it something to look at."

"The perfume?" the nun asked.

Ellie watched as Zuko and Nyla both cornered Aang. Sokka and the nuns pushed pots of perfume, causing their contents to spill onto the ground. Then, Katara bended the perfume onto Nyla. Then, chaos ensued.

Nyla, who couldn't tell where she was or who was where, began shooting its tongue everywhere, hitting everyone. It paralyzed June and Zuko, and Ellie narrowly avoided the toxic tongue. Then, confused, the beast crashed into more pots of perfume before jumping over the abby wall. Team Avatar hopped on Appa and flew away before Zuko could move again. Then, Ellie got some perfume and gave it to Zuko to rejuvenate him. She, Iroh, and Zuko left, now needing to move on as the Avatar had left.

* * *

 **Here's chapter ten. I know it took a while to get out, but I haven't had time to write very well in weeks. We are now nearing the end of part one. Don't forget to review your thoughts!**

 **~LittleMissMycroft**


	11. Part 1: Preparations

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: the Last Airbender**

* * *

 **Chapter Eleven: Preparations**

Sometimes Ellie was really glad that she knew what the future held, to some extent. She knew that the ship was going to blow up soon. Zhao tried to kill Zuko after "Bato of the Water Tribe", so she knew that it could happen any day. This meant that she needed to start planning. Because of this, she was often distracted and had trouble falling asleep, causing Iroh to watch her with concern.

Ellie knew that she must join the Avatar to learn air after they reached the Northern Water Tribe. To do this, she would need to be able to find them. So she plotted. The preteen arranged how she was going to get into the Northern Water Tribe, and she planned how she would find Aang, and then get him to let her into the group.

And one day Ellie snuck into Iroh's office. The retired general was napping up on deck, so she seized the opportunity to find a map of the Earth Kingdom. She rifled through his parchments until she found a map that satisfied her needs. Then, she stuffed it into the front of her dress and headed to her room. Once she got there, she gathered the few belongings she owned.

Ellie got a small bag and put the clothes she had arrived in into it. Then, she added the map and placed the bag on top of her lone outfit that didn't look Fire Nation. Originally it was a long sleeved, black shirt and long black pants. Knowing that they were going to end up stranded in the desert, she cut the sleeves off of her top, and cut the pants off just above the knees. Then, she sewed buttons on what was left of the pants and sleeves so that she would be able to refasten them back on if needed.

Ellie then packed the sleeves in the bag. She also slipped a thin blanket inside and as much money she could scrounge up. After she was done, she climbed into bed and fell asleep.

She started wearing the black outfit and kept the bag on her at all times the next day. Ellie knew that she must be prepared for anything at any moment. Then, finally the day she had anticipated for weeks arrived when Zuko's ship pulled into port.

OA

"For the last time, I'm not playing the tsungi horn!" Zuko exclaimed as he heard the door to his bedroom open. He was laying on his bed, pouting.

It was music night on the ship and Iroh had approached him repeatedly about playing along with the other men.

"No, it's about our plans," Iroh replied. "There is a bit of a problem."

"I'm taking your crew," a familiar voice said.

Zuko whirled around to face his uncle to see Admiral Zhao standing in his room.

"What?!" he exclaimed angrily.

"I've recruited them for a little expedition to the North Pole," the man replied.

"Uncle, is this true?"

"I'm afraid so," Iroh said. "He's taking everyone, even the cook."

He theatrically wiped a tear from his eye.

"Sorry you won't be there to see me capture the Avatar," Zhao said with a smirk. "But I can't have you getting in my way again."

Zuko lunged forward with a roar. Iroh caught him in the chest and cried, "No!"

Before Zhao could say something, he spotted something on the wall that made his eyes flash dangerously. Then, he stepped forward and took one of Zuko's broadswords off of the wall. He began slashing it through the air and Zuko's mouth fell open slightly as he realized the danger he would be in if Zhao knew he was the Blue Spirit.

"I didn't know you were skilled with broadswords, Prince Zuko," he said with an indecipherable tone.

"I'm not," Zuko replied. "They're antiques. Just decorative."

"Have you heard of the Blue Spirit, General Iroh?" the admiral asked.

"Just rumors," the elderly man replied. "I don't think he is real."

"He's real all right," he said, handing the sword to Iroh. "He's a criminal, and an enemy of the Fire Nation. But I have a feeling justice will catch up with him in the end." He shot Zuko a look before moving to exit the cabin. Then, before he left, he bowed to Iroh and said, "General Iroh, my offer to join my mission still stands…If you change your mind."

And with that he left.

OA

Ellie loved standing on the main deck and watching the waves. She had no idea why, but water always seemed to soothe her. Maybe it was because she was a waterbender as well as a firebender. The girl had tried waterbending before. It seemed to come more naturally to her than firebending, and that was saying something. Still, the feel of the moon tugging on her chi, the shine of the waves entranced her. This was why she could be seen there.

Then, Zuko came up on deck and walked over to look out at the waves as well. Ellie noticed that his gaze was distant, but his jaw was clenched in anger.

"Is everything all right?" she asked.

"All right?" Zuko shouted. "Nothing is _all right_! Zhao took my crew! How am I supposed to find the Avatar now?"

"I know you'll find a way," Ellie replied simply.

Zuko looked at her, aggravated.

"If you know, why don't you tell me how instead of giving me some cryptic message?" Then, he muttered, looking down. "You're worse than Uncle."

Instead of looking offended Ellie smiled, which aggravated Zuko even more.

"Gee thanks!" she said. "I'm glad to know that you think that I'm as wise as General Iroh."

Zuko growled.

"I'm going to my cabin," the prince said. Ellie smiled at him and watched as he walked off deck.

Then, she turned to face the sea again and rested her chin on the railing. Ellie reached a hand down and felt the bag that was hanging from her belt to make sure it was still there. Then, Iroh walked up to her.

"It's a lovely night for a walk," the tea loving man told her. "Join me for a walk? I've already asked Zuko, but he turned me down."

Ellie turned to join him.

"Why not?" she asked, following him off the ship. They walked up the pier and Iroh stopped to look in the window of shops as they passed.

Neither of them said a word, and Ellie was glad. Then, as they turned around and started walking back, there was a loud bang and the shock wave from the explosion shook the ground beneath their feet and ruffled Ellie's now shoulder length hair. From where they were, they could see flames rising from the ship.

Ellie ran forward and screamed, "Zuko!"

When they rounded the corner, the two of them saw that the ship was completely destroyed.

"Zuko…" Iroh moaned.

Ellie ran to the edge of the dock and saw a head break the surface of the water.

"Zuko!" she shouted again. She jumped in the water and fought her way through the choppy waves to him. Then, she dragged him out of the water and stumbled onto shore. Once there, Iroh wrapped the two of them in a hug.

The next day, Iroh came up with a plan. A plan that involved him taking up Zhao's offer. Once on the ship, Zhao said to Iroh, "I'm devastated to hear about Prince Zuko Just…devastated."

Ellie gritted her teeth, knowing all too well that Zhao was not only most certainly _not_ devastated, but the cause of the explosion to begin with! Meanwhile, Iroh was talking to Zhao while Ellie fantasized about punching him in the face.

"The Fire Lord will not be pleased when he learns who was responsible," Iroh was saying.

Zhao looked shocked and mildly concerned before he schooled his face into a politely interested expression. "You know who was behind the attack?" he asked.

 _You_ , Ellie said mentally while Iroh replied, "Pirates. We had a run-in with them a while back. They wanted revenge."

"So have you reconsidered my offer?" Zhao asked.

"Yes, I accept. It will be an honor to serve as your general." He raised his cup in a toast. "To the Fire Nation!"

"To victory!" Zhao said.

Ellie raised her cup as well and muttered where they couldn't hear, "To Zuko."

The next day Zhao's ship pulled out of port and headed for the Northern Water Tribe. They actually weren't all that far away and Ellie suspected that it may take only a little over a week to reach the North Pole. After Iroh took up Zhao's offer, he convinced Zhao to let Ellie come as well and then they snuck Zuko on board. The day they pulled out to sea, Iroh found his nephew and told him, "Our plan is working perfectly. Zhao doesn't suspect a thing."

"You didn't have to do this," the scarred prince replied.

"No nephew of mine is going to stow away on a ship without some backup."

"Thank you, Uncle," Zuko replied.

A door opened behind them and Iroh whispered, "Someone's coming. Stay hidden until we get to the North Pole and the Avatar will be yours. Good luck."

And they walked in separate directions.

Ellie spent most of her time in her cabin even for meals. A couple times a day, Iroh would stop by and keep her company, informing her how much longer it would be until they reached the Northern Water Tribe. Finally, the ship joined up with the rest of Zhao's fleet of over a hundred ships and they left for the siege of the north.

* * *

 **Hope you enjoyed. I realize this one is pretty short. I will be posting the next one within this week hopefully.**

 **~LittleMissMycroft**


	12. Part 1: The Northern Water Tribe

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender**

* * *

 **Chapter Twelve: The Northern Water Tribe**

Ellie decided that she hated being on Zhao's ship. She couldn't practice firebending, she never saw Zuko, she _hardly_ saw Iroh, and every time she was in the same vicinity as Zhao, she wanted to punch him, kick him, or burn that annoying smirk off his face. He was always one of the villains in the series that she had really hated. She had never hated Zuko, she loved Azula and sometimes felt sorry for her, and Zhao…she always hated.

This was why she spent most of her time in her cabin. Because of the explosion, Ellie only had three outfits. Her Fire Nation dress she had been wearing when the ship exploded, the black outfit she had packed in her little bag, and her original outfit (which was way too thin to wear in the cold waters near the North Pole.)

Ellie knew that they were nearing the Northern Water Tribe. For this she was glad for. If she spent much longer on that ship, she probably would've gone insane. Currently, she was laying back on her bed, playing with a blob of water. She made it bounce up and down and swirled it around her head. Then, she held the water above her right hand and conjured a flame in her left hand. The teen put the two different elements together. Then, steam issued out between her hands and filled the room. Ellie played with the steam for a little while, causing it to swirl around. Then, she heard a door open.

Frightened, she splayed her hands apart, causing the steam to dense into droplets of water. Then she swirled it together and quickly placed it back in her teacup. Ellie looked up to see Iroh standing in the doorway.

"You really should be more careful," he said.

Ellie looked down at the floor and gritted her teeth. "I know."

"I see you are getting better at waterbending as well as firebending," Iroh said to her.

"Do you really think I've mastered firebending?" she asked.

"I think you are as close as you will ever be for right now."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means that for now, you are good enough to start learning air."

Ellie nodded. "So, I'll need to leave after we leave the North Pole?"

Iroh nodded. "Do you have any plans?"

"Some," Ellie replied.

"Are you going to tell my nephew that you are the Avatar?"

"Not until he's ready."

OA

Sokka steered Appa downwards and they landed with a soft thwump on the snow. He, Aang, and Katara had reached the North Pole just over a week before. Sokka had taken an instant liking to the chief's daughter, Princess Yue. So, he was showing her what a ride on a sky bison was like. Then, the southern warrior stopped when the snow went from fluffy white to sooty black. He bent over and felt the black snow with a mittened hand.

"What's happening?" Yue asked.

Sokka showed the black snow to her.

"It's soot," he replied.

"What?" Yue asked. She had obviously never seen any before.

"I've seen this before," Sokka informed her. "Right before my village was attacked. It's soot mixed with snow."

"But why?"

The black snow started falling quicker and heavier. More and more of it appeared.

"It's the Fire Nation. They've closed in on the North Pole and from the looks of this stuff there's a lot of them."

OA

"This will truly be one for the history books, General Iroh," Zhao said. He, Iroh, and Ellie were standing on the bough of the ship, looking at the enormous icy wall of the Northern Water Tribe. "Just think, centuries from now, people will study the great Admiral Zhao, who destroyed last of the Water Tribe civilization. You're lucky you're here to see it."

"Be careful what you wish for," Iroh replied tersely. "History is not always kind to its subjects."

"I suppose you speak from experience, but rest assured. This will be nothing like your legendary failure at Ba Sing Se."

"I hope not, for your sake," Iroh replied quietly.

Then, Ellie followed as Iroh walked down below deck. The two of them headed directly to find Zuko. Luckily, it wasn't too hard.

"We'll be landing soon," Iroh said, quietly, coming to a pause as he stood beside his nephew, but not facing him. "Do you have a plan?"

Zuko removed the mask that was covering his face.

"I'm working on it, Uncle," he replied before sliding the mask back in place.

Iroh started moving and as Ellie passed the prince, she whispered, "Good luck."

Once they got close enough to the wall, every ship on the front line started blasting fireballs at it in an attempt to break it down. Some of them hit, but most were blocked by waterbenders. As the moon climbed higher in the sky, less and less damage was being inflicted on the icy city.

"It's almost twilight, Admiral," Iroh said, voicing Ellie's worry. "As your military advisor, I must advise you halt your attack. The waterbenders draw their power from the moon, and it is nearly full tonight. You should wait and resume the attack at daybreak."

"Oh, I'm well aware of the moon problem and I am working on a solution. But, for now, daybreak it is."

The ships all dropped their anchors and stopped firing. That night Iroh snuck away from the admiral to help Zuko escape into the city in order to go after the Avatar. Ellie came with them. Iroh commandeered a boat for his nephew and once Zuko climbed inside, lowered it to the water.

"If you're fishing for an octopus my nephew, you need a tightly woven net, or he will squeeze through the tiniest hole and escape," Iroh said urgently.

"I don't need your wisdom right now, Uncle," Zuko muttered.

"I'm sorry. I just nag you, because, well," his voice broke and his eyes filled with tears. "Ever since I've lost my son…"

"Uncle, you don't have to say it," Zuko said.

"…I think of you as my own," Iroh finished.

Zuko's expression softened. "I know, Uncle. We'll meet again."

He leaned forward and hugged his uncle. He turned to Ellie and raised a hand in farewell. Ellie paused before instinctively throwing herself forward and wrapping Zuko in a hug. "Be careful," she said before backing away and keeping his gaze. "Of course it wouldn't be too bad if you don't come back," she kept smiling to make sure he knew that she was joking.

"Don't worry, I will," he said before turning. "After I have the Avatar."

And with that, he maneuvered the boat away from Zhao's ship.

OA

"The spirits!" Aang exclaimed. "Maybe I can find them and get their help!"

Yue started. "You can do that?" she asked.

Katara walked up to the princess.

"The Avatar is the bridge between our world and the Spirit World! Aang can talk to them!"

Yue turned to the airbender. "Maybe they'll give you the wisdom to win this battle!"

"Or maybe they'll unleash a crazy spirit attack on the Fire Nation!" the young boy exclaimed, throwing his hands up in excitement. Both girls looked at him oddly. Then he added hastily, "Or wisdom. That's good too."

"The only problem is last time you got into the Spirit World by accident. How are you going to there this time?" Katara asked,

Yue smiled in excitement.

"I have an idea," she said. "Follow me."

OA

Zuko rowed all the way to the wall, but couldn't figure out a way in. Water Tribe Warriors were all marching above on the wall, making sure that no one snuck into the city overnight. The prince rowed further and stopped to see a bunch of seals surrounding a hole in the ice. Zuko looked back up at the wall before rowing over to where the seals were. As he approached, they dove through the hole.

The teen bent over it and looked at the clear blue water inside it.

"Where are they going?" he asked. "There coming up for air somewhere…"

He pulled the cloth that was covering his face off, took a deep breath, and then plunged head first into the icy water.

OA

Yue led them to a small wooden door that was close to the heart of the city. Aang walked up to it, before turning to Yue and asking, "so this is the way to the Spirit World?"

The princess laughed. "No. You'll have to get there on your own. But I can take you to the most spiritual place in the North Pole."

She opened the door and the three of them went inside. Aang looked around in awe at the lush green grass, the blooming tree, and the pond of water that was in a small enclosure in the middle of the city. Beyond the pond, he could see the rest of the tribe stretching out to the ocean. Aang ran forward and rolled in the grass.

"I never thought I'd miss grass this much!" he exclaimed.

"It's so warm here," Katara exclaimed, taking off her coat as she spoke. "How is that even possible?"

"It's the center of all the spiritual energy in our land," the other girl replied.

She took her coat off as well and Aang sat down in front of the pond.

"You're right, Yue. I can feel…something. Its so tranquil."

OA

Zuko emerged through the water through another hole in the ice and dragged himself out, shivering. Then, he lay on the snow, gasping for breath. After he started breathing evenly, he breathed fire to warm himself. The turtle seals he had followed started barking at him.

"Be quiet!" He snapped and they quieted.

The teen stood up and pushed his way through them and found an opening in the ceiling where water was pouring out. Zuko braced his foot against the wall of the cave before propelling himself up and into the stream of water. Then, he pulled himself up with some difficulty.

"Maybe we should get some help," Yue was saying. She and Katara were sitting on the grass behind Aang, whose tattoos were glowing.

Katara smiled. "No. he's my friend. I'm perfectly capable of protecting him."

"Well aren't you a big girl now," came a raspy voice from behind them.

Yue and Katara turned, startled to see Zuko standing there behind them.

"No," Katara said in dismay.

"yes," Zuko replied. "Hand him over and I won't have to hurt you."

Yue ran off, most likely to get help, while Katara shifted into a defensive stance.

Zuko then kicked blast after blast of fire at her, but she deflected all of them with ease. Then, she conjured a stream of water from the fish pond and hit Zuko while he was preparing to strike again, knocking him over.

"I see you've learned a new trick," he said.

He tried shooting fireballs at her again, but she still stopped them all with water shield

S before she weaved her arms in and out around her, causing water to spiral around Zuko and freeze, binding his hands and feet.

"You little peasant," he snapped. "You've found a master, haven't you?"

The sun began to rise and Zuko felt his chi well up within him. The ice around hi began to melt and Katara stepped back with worry.

"You rise with the moon," Zuko said as the sun peeked out over the palace. "I rise with the sun."

OA

Zhao smiled at the sun.

"It's daybreak at last. Let's write history."

OA

Aang opened his eyes to see that he was in some sort of swamp. The boy was sitting cross legged on a platform that was surrounded by shallow water and large trees. Aang stood up and looked ho his left to see a spirit that resembled a monkey sitting on another platform that was practically made of the tree that surrounded it. The monkey was also sitting cross legged; meditating. Aang walked up as it let out a comical hum.

"Oaahhmmm," it said.

"Hello?" Aang asked, stopping right in front of it. "I'm sorry to disturb you, but I just really need to find the Moon and the Ocean Spirits."

Without opening its eyes, it said in a slightly Indian accent, "Go…away." Aang stood there determined to figure out how to defeat the Fire Navy fleet. The monkey seemed to notice this. It opened one eye before asking, "You're still here?"

"Yes! I need—"

"Oaahhmmm!" the monkey interrupted forcefully, closing its eyes again. Then, a glowing orb flew by. "Perhaps that thing will help you. Go chase it."

Aang eagerly ran after it.

The monkey opened one eye to make sure the boy had really gone. Then, he let out a sigh, "Finally."

Neither man nor spirit seemed to understand how much concentration and _quiet_ he needed. Meanwhile, Aang caught up to the orb of light he was chasing. He caught it in between his hands, but the branch he was standing on suddenly dissolved. The airbender fell to the water below and the orb flew off.

"No, come back!" he exclaimed.

Then a familiar voice said, "Hello Aang."

Aang looked down to see that his reflection had changed to look like the Avatar before him.

"Roku," he said in awe.

OA

Once the sun had risen higher in the sky, Zhao sent some of his men into the city to attack. The rest of them stayed on their ships and sent numerous fireballs raining down. Ellie watched this as she stood on deck with Iroh, who was talking to the admiral. The Northern Water Tribe seemed even more beautiful in person than it was in the show. Ellie suspected that if it wasn't under attack, it would've looked absolutely magnificent.

"I don't need to remind you, we have a time limit," Iroh was saying. "If we don't defeat the Water Tribe before the full moon rises, they will be undefeatable."

Zhao smirked. "I assure you, I have everything under control. I intend to remove the moon as a factor."

Iroh's eyes widened. "Remove the _moon_? _How?"_

"Years ago, I stumbled across a great secret. The moon's mortal form."

"What?" the older general queried.

"I was a lieutenant serving under Commander Shu in the Earth Kingdom. I discovered a hidden library underneath the ground. I tore through scroll after scroll. One of them contained a detailed illustration and the words 'moon' and 'ocean'. I knew then that these spirits could be found and killed. And that it was my destiny to do so."

"Zhao!" Iroh exclaimed angrily. "The spirits are not to be trifled with!"

"Yes, yes I know you fear the spirits, Iroh. Ive heard rumors about your journey to the Spirit World, but the ocean and moon gave up their immortality to become a part of our world. And now, they will face the consequences."

OA

When night fell, Zhao left the ship with a team of soldiers on komodo rhinos. Iroh, Ellie could tell, was greatly worried. He paced the main deck until finally, he left to get a boat. Ellie hurried after him.

"Where are you going?" she hissed as he climbed into the boat.

"I can't just sit by and do nothing knowing that he will kill the ocean spirit."

"I'm coming with you!" Ellie exclaimed.

"No!" he snapped, "It's too dangerous! Stay here where its safe."

"I'm coming! You forget, I've been to the Spirit World too. Plus, I don't want to be left behind!"

Iroh looked down and let out a sigh.

"Fine. But you must stick close to me."

"Like a pentapus!" Ellie squealed, hopping into the boat as well.

Iroh steadied it before cutting the ropes that held it with a jab of firebending. Once inside the city, they hurried to follow Zhao. It wasn't hard as they were the only ones on rhinos. While Iroh was following the tracks, Ellie walked beside him, staring around. As the moon had risen, the fire tanks and soldiers stood no chance. Waterbending warriors were taking them all with apparent ease. She watched, wishing that she could waterbend like that. Then, she focused once more as they drew to a halt by a little, round, wooden door.

"They are through there," the Dragon of the West said, pointing to the door.

OA

Sokka, Katara, and Yue were all riding on Appa, looking for Aang. After the sun had risen, Katara had been knocked unconscious by Zuko. When she awoke, both he and the Avatar were gone. As they flew past a cave, a blue flash of light soared overhead before collecting in the cave and flashing brilliantly.

"Look!" Katara cried, pointing to the now glowing cave. "That's gotta be Aang!"

As they landed, they saw Aang flying out of the cave with Zuko running behind slid off of Appa and shifted into a waterbending stance.

"Here for a rematch?" Zuko asked.

"Trust me," she said. "It's not going to be much of a match."

She extinguished the flame he sent at her before raising the snow underneath Zuko, creating a column ten feet tall, freezing it, and dropping him to the ground where he was knocked unconscious. Katara rushed forward to free Aang.

"We need to get to the Oasis!" Aang exclaimed. "The spirits are in trouble!"

OA

As Ellie and Iroh walked through the door, the light coming from the moon turned to a sickly red. Ellie looked ahead to see Zhao holding a red bag that was swaying as the fish inside struggled to escape.

Ellie moaned and put a hand up to her head. She felt as if she had just spent two hours in the summer sun, marching around. Her head felt strangely light and her ears were buzzing.

Iroh rushed forward. "Are you all right?"

"I feel lightheaded," she groaned.

Iroh put a hand on her back to steady her and then thy walked forward to where they could hear what Zhao was saying.

"—will talk about the great Zhao, who darkened the moon. They will call me Zhao the Conqueror. Zhao the Moon Slayer! Zhao, the Invincible!" a lemur hopped on his head. "Get it off!"

Ellie chuckled and then looked to see Aang standing with his staff ready to attack. Zhao raised a fist to the bag. Aang dropped the staff and raised his hands in front of him. "Don't," the boy said.

"It was my destiny to destroy the moon and the Water Tribe," Zhao replied.

"Destroying the moon wont just hurt the Water Tribe, it'll hurt everyone," the boy tried to reason with him.

"He is right, Zhao," Iroh said, stepping forward.

Zhao looked over at them, startled.

"General Iroh," he said. "Why am I not surprised to discover your treachery?"

"I'm no traitor, Zhao!" Iroh shot back, pushing the hood from his face. "The Fire Nation needs the moon too! We all depend on the balance." Zhao didn't move from his defensive position. "Whatever you do to that spirit, I will release on you tenfold! Let it go now!"

Zhao seemed to realize that he had no choice. He bent over an tipped the bag over, letting the spirit back into its pond. Then, as he straightened up, his eyes hardened and before Ellie could warn anyone, he struck the fish. They all stood there horrified for half a second and the moon disappeared altogether. Iroh then let out a ginormous stream of fire. While the general was taking on his men, Zhao ran off. Ellie turned to see Zuko break out of his ropes in Appa's saddle and run after the Admiral. Not knowing what else to do, Ellie ran after them.

She found Zuko and Zhao standing on a bridge, dueling each other. With a war cry, Ellie leapt forward and blasted Zhao back with a powerful stream of fire. A grin spread across her face. Zuko's eyes widened in surprise for a moment. Then, he quickly joined her and began shooting fireballs as well. Ellie didn't even notice that her fire was now stronger than either of theirs. Her eyes flashed and she danced on her toes as she sent a volley of blasts at the admiral. He was on the offensive and Ellie fought her way closer and closer until she was an arm's distance away. Then, she punched him in the face as hard as she could.

"I've been wanting to do that for months," the girl said with a wolf like grin.

OA

Katara lifted the moon spirit before setting it gently back in the water. Iroh picked it up and held it.

"There's no hope," she said. "It's dead."

Iroh turned and looked at Yue. He took in her white hair.

"You have been touched by the moon spirit! Some of your life is in you!"

Yue looked up. Her eyes were so blue, they appeared to be glowing.

"Yes," she replied. "It gave me life. Maybe I can give it back."

Sokka looked up in shock. She stood up and walked over to him. Sokka shot to his feet to and grabbed her hand. "No!" he shouted. "You don't have to do that!"

"It's my duty, Sokka."

"I wont let you! You're father told me to protect you!"

"I have to do this," she replied with determination and she pulled her hand out of his. Then she placed her hands on the giant burn that marred the dead spirit's side. It began to glow and then Yue's eyes slid closed and she fell into Sokka's arms.

OA

Zhao stumbled back, clutching his face. He looked at her disgust and then readied himself to shoot a blast of fire. As it zoomed toward her, she dropped to a crouch and raised her arms with her fingers splayed out. A giant wave of white-hot fire rose to form a wall and absorbed the blow completely. The force of it caused Zhao to fly back. As he caught a glimpse of the sky, he saw that the moon was in the sky once again.

"It cant be!" he shouted, his eyes widening.

Ellie rolled back and then fell into Zuko as she saw a giant watery hand rise from the channel beneath them. She watched as its claws fastened around Zhao and hoisted him into the air. She and Zuko watched, shocked, as it dragged him into the depths of the sea. Then, the blue glowing disappeared down the channel. Ellie scrambled off of Zuko to look up at the moon.

Then, Zuko put a hand on her shoulder briefly to gain her attention as he walked past. The two of them went to find Iroh. Once they did, they found a waterbending raft and pushed it out to sea. Ellie slumped against the mast and her eyes slid shut. Zuko stood looking at the wreckage of the Fire Navy ships while his uncle was hoisting a Fire Nation flag.

"I'm surprised, Prince Zuko," Iroh said. "Surprised that you are not, at this moment, trying to capture the Avatar."

"I'm tired," Zuko replied.

"Then you should rest," Iroh instructed, resting a hand on his nephew's shoulder. "A man needs his rest."

Ellie smiled, her eyes still closed. He was saying the very words he had said over half a year ago. The day she had fallen into the creek. So much had changed since then. She had changed. Then, she drifted off into a peaceful sleep, rocked by the gentle waves.

* * *

 **So this is the last installment of part one. I've been having a lot of trouble finding time to update since school started, so I am not planning on posting part two until Christmas break. You guys have a nice little cliff hanger to ponder on while I go and cram my brain to the point of bursting. Hope you liked it!**

 **~TTFN**


	13. Part 2: Three Becomes Four

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: the Last Airbender.**

 **Now, here is the first installment of Book 2. It will follow the plot very closely, probably much more than the previous one. I expect I won't be able to update for another two weeks or so-just a heads up. Now, enjoy!**

* * *

 **Chapter One: Three Becomes Four**

After Zuko left the North Pole, he, his uncle, and a girl named Ellie drifted along with Iroh manning the sails. Ellie, after being dumped in the waters of the South Pole, had been hauled aboard the prince's ship and had no choice but to ride with him up to the North Pole, especially after Iroh and Ellie discovered that she was a bender. It was her plan to join the Avatar the first chance she got in order to learn airbending from him.

A week passed since they left the North Pole, their food rations ran out, and the sails were ripped during a storm. The next two weeks, they drifted along with the current until their raft finally came to a stop at a bank in the Earth Kingdom near a Fire Nation colony. They went there, but had to leave when Azula, Zuko's younger sister, showed up and tried to capture them. Her plan almost worked, but Zuko realized just in time what she was doing. From there, they ran down the path to a stream that was deep in the woods near the spa they had been staying at.

Ellie watched as Zuko lifted his knife and cut off his ponytail. He handed Iroh the knife and he did the same. Then, they dropped their hair in the river.

"What are you doing?" Ellie asked.

"We will be too noticeable with those," Iroh said.

Ellie simply nodded. Then, she and Zuko both turned to Iroh.

"So what do we do now?" the girl asked.

"We either hide in the Earth Kingdom, where if they find us they will have us killed. Or, we can go to the Fire Nation, where we will be handed over to Azula."

He and Zuko both nodded at each other at the same time. Ellie grinned.

"Earth Kingdom it is," she and Zuko said in unison.

They walked up the path for some way until the sun began to set and the sky grew dark. They stepped of a path into a clearing.

"We can stop here for tonight," Zuko said.

Ellie nodded and pulled her bag out of her belt. Then, she set it on the ground and pulled a thin blanket from within it. She lay down on the ground and threw the blanket over her. Luckily it was warm enough that she didn't really need a blanket. She had it mostly for assurance. A while ago, she would've been able to close her eyes and pretend that she was lying in her bed at home, but she was no longer able to anymore. It had been so long since she had been home. Ellie's heart throbbed as she remembered her little brothers. The oldest was ten and the youngest was three and a half. With a jolt, Ellie realized that he was probably four by now. She vaguely wondered if time had stopped, or if it had continued going as normal without her.

The girl shook her head. It was no use wondering things that she could in no way answer. Instead, she wondered what she should do now. Ellie knew that she needed to leave and find Aang so that she could learn airbending. The teen sighed. _I'll just ask Iroh tomorrow,_ she thought to herself. Then with a decisive nod, she closed her eyes and fell asleep.

OA

 _Ellie hardly even noticed the hands on her back before she felt herself falling. As if in slow motion she saw the water draw nearer, lapping hungrily at its muddy banks and a ripple of colors went across the surface. She had just enough time for fear what would happen when she landed in the shallow water, and realized she would probably get hurt. But then, she was totally submerged in the water and couldn't tell which way was up or down. She opened her eyes to see colors swirling around her and began to grow dizzy, so she snapped them shut again._

 _Then the warm water suddenly felt freezing and her fingers and toes numbed. The light faded and her lungs were searing from lack of air. Then her head broke the surface of the water and she gulped in as fast as possible, registering that the air was cold and her ears and nose were going numb as well._

Ellie blinked the image of white ice caps away, waking up to find that she was gasping for breath, surrounded by trees. The girl groaned. She had been dreaming of the day she had fallen into the creek, finding herself in the South Pole afterwards, ever since they had arrived in the North Pole. She groaned softly once more and, after glancing around to make sure she had not woken any of her companions, she rolled back over and fell asleep.

OA

The next morning, Ellie sat up and stretched with a yawn. She looked over to see the spot where Zuko had been sleeping empty. Iroh was sitting a little ways away brewing tea.

"Where's Zuko?" She asked.

Iroh turned and smiled at the fact that she was awake. "He is making sure we aren't being followed."

"Good," Ellie replied smiling as well. "I need to speak with you."

Iroh looked concerned.

"What is it?" he asked.

OA

Zuko walked into the clearing where they had slept the night.

"Come on, let's go," he called.

"What did you find?" Iroh asked.

"We aren't being followed," Zuko confirmed. "But you and I are wanted for treason."

Iroh nodded solemnly. He and Ellie stood still and Zuko watched them for a second before saying, "Well? Let's go!"

"About that," Ellie said finally, stepping forward. "I'm not coming with you."

"I need to go relieve myself," Iroh said suddenly, realizing that they needed a little privacy. He walked into the woods and Zuko stared at Ellie.

"What do you mean?" he asked after a pregnant pause.

"I mean, I'm not coming with you and Iroh anymore. I've realized my purpose and I need to go fulfill my destiny. Before you ask, I can't tell you what it is right now. We may meet again, but I just want to let you know that I will never come between you and the Avatar."

She picked up her bag and slung it over her shoulder. Then, with one last look at him, she turned and walked into the woods.

"Wait!" he cried out.

Ellie turned to see that he had taken a step forward and his hand was stretched out towards her.

"You can't just go! I won't allow you to be in the Earth Kingdom alone!"

"I have to!" Ellie exclaimed, her voice quivering slightly. "You can't stop me!"

"Then at least have this," Zuko pleaded, holding out his knife. "So that I can be sure you're protected."

Instead of saying some jibe about how she had firebending like she would've months ago, her breath caught in her throat. She slowly reached out a hand to take the knife, and then she tucked it into her belt.

"Thank you," she breathed before dashing out of the clearing.

Ellie ran for several minutes until she was far enough to her satisfaction. Then, she leaned against a tree and closed her eyes. Since when did she almost break out into tears when Zuko did anything for her? The two of them had practically hated each other the first month or so she had been brought aboard his ship, but slowly the hate had dissolved and turned into something else. She gritted her teeth and glared up at the sky.

"This is all your fault!" she snapped. The Avatar could just picture Ai, the spirit of love, smiling happily at her. Ellie sighed, slumped down, and then pulled her map out of her bag.

The girl searched for a moment until she found General Fong's base. With a start, she realized that it actually wasn't all that far from the colony they were just outside of. She traced a route from General Fong's base to the nearest river. Ellie figured that that was where Team Avatar must be. They would be on the water so Aang could practice his waterbending after all. Then the teen found where she most likely was and set out a path to the river.

With the air of decisiveness, she nodded to herself before rolling the scroll up and placing it in her bag as she stood up. Then, Ellie began heading west. She walked until the sun set. Then, she slept the night and continued the next morning. The sun was high into the sky and Ellie was beginning to wonder if she would ever find them when she heard people talking and the gentle lap of water.

Ellie edged forward and peered around a tree to see Appa sitting on the banks of a river. Aang and Katara were in the water and Sokka was sharpening his machete, sitting next to Appa. On the ground by the bison were three sleeping bags. Ellie hesitated, before pushing her way through a bush and coming into the open. Sokka ceased sharpening his weapon and Aang, who was facing her direction also paused in confusion. When Aang stopped waterbending, Katara turned around to see Ellie standing there.

"Who are you?" Sokka asked rudely.

"Have I seen you before?" Aang queried.

"Can we help you?" Katara questioned.

Ellie was at a loss for words for a second. Then she said lamely, "My name is Ellie. I've—I've been a prisoner of Prince Zuko."

"Zuko?!" all three of them exclaimed.

Ellie nodded and put on a helpless look. "I only just escaped because Prince Zuko's ship was destroyed and now they are on the run!"

"Why did he keep you prisoner?" Aang asked, concerned.

"I think I'm the Avatar."

"But I'm the Avatar!" Aang exclaimed.

"I know! That's why I came to you!" she paused before creating a fire in one hand. Sokka yelped and leapt backwards, but before he could attack her, she raised water out of the river. All three of them froze and stared for a moment. Then Ellie broke the silence by saying, "If I'm an Avatar too, then I need to learn airbending and well—"

She cut off awkwardly to avoid saying that Aang was the last airbender. Aang nodded solemnly. "Don't worry. I'll teach you."

Ellie bowed to him in respect. "Thank you."

* * *

 **So things between Zuko and Ellie come to a head when he realizes she has to leave, and the other Avatar finally meets her counterpart in person. How do you think that's going to fare?**

 **~LittleMissMycroft**


	14. Part 2: Ai's Curse

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender.**

 **Here is the second chapter of this installment, based off of the episode, Cave of Two Lover's. Hope you enjoy! The story will begin picking up a bit again after this one.**

* * *

 **Chapter Two: Ai's Curse**

"To airbend, you must detach your feelings and feel the freedom of the air. Air is the element of freedom. Now you try it."

Aang dropped his hands causing the ball of air he had been demonstrating with to dissolve. Ellie stood across from him.

"What, just like that?" she asked.

Aang nodded.

Ellie circled her hands the way Aang had, but nothing happened. She thrust her arm out and still, nothing happened. She thrust both arms out and a flame erupted from her palms.

"Watch it!" Aang exclaimed, leaping to the side. "You have to feel the air! You must detach yourself!"

"I'm trying!" Ellie snapped.

"Just be patient!" Aang shouted. He took a deep breath and then said, "Try it again."

Ellie nodded. She closed her eyes for a moment, forcing her emotions down. Then, she opened her arms and shifted into an airbending stance. She moved her arms in the circular rhythm and felt the air move around. Then, she tried to create a ball and—

Pfft. A little steam billowed in her palms before fizzling out.

"Why can't I get it?!" she exclaimed before crossing her arms and pouting. "Maybe I'm just not meant to be an airbender."

"You almost had it!" Aang exclaimed, trying to encourage her.

Ellie's eyebrow twitched in anger.

"You know, I could just learn waterbending. I can already do little stuff."

Aang shook his head and looked exasperated. "You can't do that! I doesn't work like that!"

"Well what do you suggest me do?" Ellie snapped.

"Work on your airbending!"

"Oh, _work on my airbending_. Because that _totally_ works."

"You're just too stubborn to work through it."

"Too—too stubborn?!" she shrieked. "I'm patient! I think you're just a horrible teacher!"

"Well you're a horrible student!"

The two of them continued shouting at each other. Katara and Sokka, who had been sitting on Appa watching, turned to each other.

"Do you think we should break them up?" Sokka asked.

"I don't know," Katara replied. "I've never seen Aang act like this. I'm sure they can resolve this on their own, anyhow."

They both turned back to see that tiny white hot fires were burning out of the end of Ellie's balled up fists.

"On second thought, maybe we _should_ break them up."

She hopped up and ran over to place herself between the two Avatars. When she saw that Ellie's glare was directed at her instead of Aang now, she hastily said, "C'mon Aang, it's time to work on your waterbending."

Aang bowed his head in guilt as he realized that he had been shouting at his student and new friend. Katara led him into the river and watched as he conjured a stream of water. Now that she had him away from the others, she asked, "What's up with you?"

"I don't—I just…I don't get why she would want to skip airbending! She should know better than that! And, well… It makes me sad knowing that now there's another airbender, she doesn't even want to learn the element."

Katara felt her heart wrench for the young boy. She should've known that was why Aang was getting so worked up. Then, she shook her head and decided to distract him with a surprise sparring match.

OA

Sokka was stroking the fake beard that he kept for special occasions.

"So how does this make you feel?" he asked Ellie.

"Frustrated!" Ellie shouted. "I don't get why he feels the need to boss me around. I can do whatever I want!"

"How does _that_ make you feel?" Sokka asked in his pompous, non-sympathetic voice.

"Ugh!" Ellie groaned, putting her head on her arms. She pulled his beard off before getting up and heading to the river. "Let's go watch them practice."

"I don't want to watch them splash each other!" Sokka exclaimed, grabbing for the beard. "Besides! We need to go to Omashu so Aang can learn earthbending."

"Yeah, yeah," she said waving a hand and going down to the river. Sokka groaned before pulling his clothes off save his drawers and then he got into the water. Ellie pulled her own over-clothes off as well and tossed them onto the bank before bending the water out of them. Then, she walked over to stand by Aang. "So what're we doing?"

Aang looked at her in frustration. Sensing the fight that could break out at any second, Katara replied, "We are working on the octopus form."

Ellie nodded and Aang took a deep breath, letting the anger slide off of his face. He shifted into a waterbending stance. When Ellie didn't do so, Katara remembered that she hadn't had any formal training in waterbending.

"You need to spread your legs apart like this," Katara said, spreading her legs into a stance and bending her knees slightly. "And hold your hands in front of you in a defensive position."

Ellie shifted into a stance that felt natural to her. Katara leaned back, impressed.

"Wow!" Aang praised her. "That's very good for your first try!"

Ellie smiled.

Sokka, who had been floating on a rather large leaf with Momo on his shoulder, found this a good time to interrupt the training.

"Are you guys gonna be done soon?" he asked. "We need to leave soon if we are gonna make it to Omashu today."

"Yeah, like you're ready to go right now, Naked Guy," Katara teased her brother.

Bringing her back on topic, Aang asked, "So we were working on the octopus form?"

"Yes. Now show me your stance," Katara said, turning to Aang.

Aang returned to his stance. Katara walked forward to correct him.

"Your arms are too far apart." She positioned his arms closer together and he blushed. Ellie smirked, but then her smile fell. "If you move them closer together, you protect your center. Got it?"

"Oh, yeah, thanks," Aang replied awkwardly.

She walked back to where she had been standing before. Then, she instructed Ellie on how to make an octopus. Then, she turned to both of her pupils and said, "Let's see what you got."

So they sparred for the next five minutes. Ellie was complete crap at it until she finally got the hang of it towards the end. Aang did pretty well and ended his and Katara's match by knocking her over. Then, the girl congratulated them both on their performance.

OA

Zuko was laying on his side, facing away from the opening of the clearing he and his uncle had stayed the night in. He hadn't been in a very good mood ever since Ellie had left, and currently he was pouting about it. Then, the boy heard footsteps. Zuko perked up and his back straightened, then he turned ready to see Ellie return telling him exactly how wrong she had been to leave.

But, the next minute, Iroh pushed his way through the bushes.

Zuko's face fell almost comically and he turned to face the opposite direction again. The teen listened as his uncle walked up to him, pouting. He should've recognized that the old man's footsteps were too heavy to be Ellie's.

"Are you all right?" Iroh asked. Zuko's eyebrows came down but he said nothing. "I should have realized how upset Ellie's departure would make you."

"Upset? I'm not upset!" Zuko exclaimed, sitting up and turning to face his uncle.

"You miss her, don't you?" Zuko was silent once again. "Don't worry. It is perfectly normal to feel the loss of someone you love, even if they aren't truly gone."

Zuko nodded for a second, but then froze when he thought through all Iroh had said.

"Wait! Love? I didn't—I don't… _love_ Ellie!" Zuko exclaimed, but even as he said so, he knew the words weren't true. Well…he may not _love_ her, but she had become a valuable companion by the time she left. Zuko would even go so far as to say that they might have been friends.

This thought made him smile. He had never had a friend before. Iroh gave him a look before saying, "See here, Prince Zuko. Why don't you make yourself useful before we move on? We need some food."

"I'll go get some," Zuko replied with determination. All confusion was gone now that he had something to do.

OA

Four teens paused when they heard the sound of a man singing.

" _Don't fall in love with the travelin' girl. She'll leave you broken-broken hearted._ "

They turned to the hill on the opposite side of the river to see a man with crazy hair top the hill. There were several people behind him. When he saw the children, he paused in his singing and looked at them before saying, "He-hey! River people!"

Momo jumped off Sokka's shoulder, overturning the leaf they had been floating on.

"We're not river people," Katara said in confusion.

"You're not?" the man, who Ellie dubbed a hippie, asked in confusion. "Well, then what kind of people are you?"

"Just…people," Aang replied lamely.

As Sokka walked up to stand in between Ellie and Aang, the hippie threw his hands in the air and said, "Aren't we all, brother?"

"Who are you?" Sokka asked, pointing an accusing finger at the man and his friends.

"I'm Chong," he replied in a laid back manner. "And this is my wife, Lily. We're nomads; happy to go wherever the wind takes us!"

"You guys are nomads?" Aang asked, warming up to them already. "That's great! I'm a nomad!"

"Hey! Me too!" Chong said, leaning back.

"I know. You just said that."

"Oh," the nomad replied awkwardly. Then, he said randomly to Sokka, "Nice underwear."

Sokka made a face, stuck Momo in front of his toga-like underwear, and sidled away from the weird man.

OA

Zuko crawled through the bushes back into the clearing and shot up, saying, "I couldn't find anything to eat. I can't live like this! I wasn't meant to be a fugitive! This is impossible!" He ended his mini temper tantrum and turned to see Iroh hunched over with his back to him. "Uncle, what're you _doing_?"

"You're looking at the rare white dragon bush. Its leaves make a tea so delicious it's heartbreaking! That…or is the white jade, which is poisonous."

"We need food, not tea. I'm going fishing."

And he strode off again. Iroh, however wasn't paying attention. He was stroking his beard in deep thought.

"Delectable tea? Or deadly poison…"

OA

After Sokka deemed that the hippies weren't a threat, he left to pack up their things. While he was doing that, Chong and one of his friends, Moku, told them all kinds of stories about places they had been. Lily made a flower headband for Aang and one of the other women braided flowers into Katara's hair before moving on to braid some into Appa's fur. Then Ellie realized that her hair was now long enough to braid when Lily cornered her and started working on it. Then, Sokka finally returned with all of their things packed up.

"Hey, Sokka!" Aang said. He was laying back against Appa's side next to Chong. "You should hear some of these stories. These guys have been everywhere!"

"Well, not everywhere, little Arrowhead," Chong replied in that same laid-back manner. "But where we haven't been we've heard about through stories and songs."

"They said they'd take to see a giant nightcrawler!" Aang chirped excitedly.

"On the way," Moku said, turning onto his back. "There's a waterfall that creates never-ending rainbow!"

"Look," Sokka said. "I hate to be the wet blanket here, but since Katara's busy, I guess it's up to me." Katara, who had been helping Lily with Ellie's hair looked up and shot her brother a quick glare. "We need to get to Omashu. No sidetracks, no worms, and definitely no rainbows!"

"Woah, sound like someone's got a case of destination fever!" Chong taunted.

"You've got to focus less on the where and more on the _going_ ," Lily said.

"O…Ma…Shu!" Sokka said slowly, enunciating each syllable.

"Sokka's right," Katara said, turning to Aang. "We need to find King Bumi so that Aang can learn earthbending somewhere safe."

"Sounds like you're heading to Omashu!" the hippie supplied cheerfully. Sokka smacked his forehead in exasperation. "You know, there's an old story about a secret pass that goes right through the mountain."

"Is this real, or a legend?" Katara asked skeptically. At the exact same time, Ellie asked the same thing with a grin on her face.

The two girls looked at each other for a second until they turned to look at Chong as he replied, "Oh it's a real legend all right. And it's as old as earthbending itself!" he started strumming on his guitar before singing about two lovers from warring cities that built a pass to be together. As he sang, the other hippies stood up and started dancing while Moku started playing on his drum.

"I think we'll just stick with flying," Ellie said.

"We've dealt with Fire Nation before," Sokka explained. "We'll be fine."

"Yeah, thanks for the help, but Appa _hates_ going underground, and we need to do whatever makes Appa most comfortable," Aang agreed with a smile.

But, it turned out flying was not more comfortable for them _or_ Appa. Apparently they were now being followed by the Fire Nation and a blockade had been set up to keep them from escaping. They landed Appa back where they had been before and all four teens slouched over to the nomads, covered in soot.

"Secret cave, let's go," Sokka said pointing to the mountain as they walked past the hippies.

OA

Zuko walked back into the clearing once again, but this time he had a long stick leaning on his shoulder. At the top of it, wiggling desperately to escape, was a tiny fish the size of his thumb.

"Zuko!" Iroh called out. "You remember that plant I thought might be tea?"

"You didn't!"

"I did," Iroh replied and he turned to face his nephew, showing a great rash that was causing the whole left side of his face to swell up. "And it wasn't. When the rash spreads to my throat, I will stop breathing. But look what I found! These are bacui berries, known to cure the poison of the white jade! That or maca'ole berries, which cause blindness."

Zuko snatched the branch of red berries out of his uncle's hand and threw it into the bushes. "We're not taking any more chances with these plants! We need help."

"But where are we going to go?"

"There should be a village nearby," Zuko replied, hoisting his rucksack over his shoulder. "We'll head for it and hope they have a healer.

OA

"So where is this tunnel?" Sokka asked as they walked with the hippies toward the mountain.

"Actually, it's not just one tunnel. The lovers didn't want anyone to find out about their love, so they built a whole labyrinth."

Sokka turned with wide eyes to face Chong.

"Labyrinth?" he asked, slightly panicking.

"I'm sure we'll figure it out."

"All you need to do is trust in love," Lily said. "Well, according to the curse."

Sokka stopped and the others walked past him. Then he got over his moment of speechlessness and asked, "Curse?!"

They rounded the hill to see the mouth of an enormous cave. At each side there was a statue.

"Hey! We're here!" Chong exclaimed, pointing at it,

"So what exactly is this curse?" Sokka asked.

"The curse says that only those that trust in love can make it through the caves. Otherwise, you'll be trapped in the forever."

"And die," Lily supplied cheerfully.

"Oh, yeah and die!" Chong finished. "Hey! I just remembered the rest of that song!" He face the mouth of the cave, dramatically strummed a chord on his guitar, and sang in a deep voice, "And diiiie."

"That's it!" Sokka exclaimed. "There's no way we're going down some cursed hole!"

Moku turned to see smoke rising. He pointed to it and said happily, "Look! Someone's making a big campfire."

"That's no campfire, Moku," Katara replied, sounding worried.

"It's the Fire Nation," Sokka informed them grimly. "And they're tracking us."

Aang turned to face Chong.

"So all you need is love to make it through these caves?" he asked.

Chong replied, "That is correct, little arrow-head."

Aang turned back to watch as the breeze ruffled Katara's braid. Ellie filled with great sadness, but then forcefully pushed Zuko out of her mind.

"We can make it," Aang said.

"Everyone into the hole!" Sokka shouted, pointing to the cave.

They all ran inside and turned to see the Fire Nation tanks stop at the mouth of the cave.

"Wait!" the commander shouted to the others. "It's too dangerous! Haven't you heard the song? Just close them in and leave the mountain to do the rest."

The crawlers shot harpoons into the wall and pulled rocks down, causing the entrance of the cave to fall down. As all light was blocked, Ellie lit a fire in her hand. Perhaps that wasn't such a good idea, as the hippies didn't know she could firebend. They all freaked out and started running around until Aang assured them she was good. Then, using the light from Ellie's fire, they found torches and lit them. While this was going on, Appa pawed at the rocks, trying to get out.

"It's okay, Appa," Katara said, laying a hand on his shaggy side. "We'll be fine…I hope."

"We will be fine," Sokka said. "All we need is a plan." He turned to the hippies. "Chong, how long do those torches last?"

"Oh, about two hours each."

"And we have five of them," Lily said, lighting the rest on fire. "So that's ten hours!"

"It doesn't work like that if they're all lit at the same time!" Sokka screeched, knocking them out of her hand and stomping out the fires.

"Oh, right," Lily said, putting a hand up to her head.

"I'll make a map so that we can keep track of where we've been," Sokka said, rummaging through Appa's saddle to get some rolls of paper. "Then we can solve it like a maze and get through."

So, they then began walking down the tunnel.

OA

You two must not be from around here," the nurse that was spreading a green paste across Iroh's rash said. "Most people know better than to touch the White Jade. Much less make it into tea and—drink it."

"Whoops!" Iroh replied with a chuckle.

Zuko had a sudden urge to smack his forehead in exasperation.

"So what are your names?" the teenage girl asked.

"Names?" Zuko asked, straitening up. "Of course we have names. My name is Lee and this is my uncle…Mushi!"

Iroh made a face at the name his nephew came up then, he said cheerfully, "Yes. Lee is named after his father, so we just call him Junior!"

"Mushi and Junior, huh?" the girl asked as Zuko drew a finger across his neck. Then, he straitened again and crossed his arms behind his back as she turned to him. "My name is Song. It looks like you could do with a good meal. Why don't you stay for dinner?"

"Sorry," Zuko replied, looking away. "But we need to move on."

"Oh that's too bad. My mom always makes too much roast duck," Song said sweetly.

"Where do you live, exactly?" Iroh asked, leaning over.

"Sokka, this is the tenth dead end you've lead us to," Katara complained as her brother consulted their map again.

"I don't get it," Sokka whined. "We've been through here before."

"We don't need a map," Chong said from behind them. "All we need is love. The little guy knows it."

"Yeah," Aang replied, "but I wouldn't mind having a map also."

"There's something strange here," Sokka said, walking a few feet before slowing to a stop. His nose was still in his map. "There's only one explanation. The tunnels are changing."

As he said this, the tunnel rumbled slightly.

"The tunnels," Chong said. He was beginning to panic. "They're a changin'! I knew we shouldn't a come down here!"

"Right," Sokka said sarcastically. "If only we'd listened to you."

"Everyone be quiet," Katara said suddenly. "Listen."

The all froze, listening to a weird screeching sound. Then, out of the darkness flew the strangest creature Ellie had ever seen. It had ruddy colored wings, but the rest of it was brown. It had the face of a bat, but it also had four legs and a fluffy tail.

"Aaaah! It's a wolf-bat!" Moku cried.

Sokka started waving his torch around, but he was slinging fire everywhere, including onto Appa's foot. Ellie shoved him to the side and firebent at the wolf-bat. While she was doing that, Appa was running into stone columns, knocking the ceiling down. Finally, Sokka pulled her out of the way of the rocks to get her to stop while Aang dove trough them to keep Katara from getting crushed.

Ellie turned around to see that a solid wall of stones separated them from Aang and Katara. Sokka rushed forward and started digging through them frantically.

"Yeah we're separated," Chong said. "But at least you have us!"

"Nooo!" Sokka groaned before digging even more frantically, causing some rocks to slide down and land on him.

Ellie shook her head and turned around to look to see where the tunnel went on. She started walking that direction, and soon the hippies followed her. Sokka caught up moment later, snatching the torch out of Chong's hand. Thinking that Sokka was simply upset that they were separated (not that he was upset about being with the hippies) Chong started playing on his little guitar.

"Don't let the cave-in get you down," he sang. "Don't let the falling rocks turn your smile into a frown. When the tunnel is dark that's when you will need a clown, hey! Down let the cave-in get you dooown, Sokkaaa…"

The group walked forward with Ellie in the lead, now thankfully in silence. She moved her hand around, moving the light from her fire. Then, she slowed to a stop as they came upon a fork in the pathway.

"My gut says we should go left," Ellie said. "What do you think, Sokka?"

Sokka consulted his map. "No, my map says to go right."

"Are you sure?" Ellie asked, wrinkling her nose.

"Yes," Sokka stated firmly, walking past her into the tunnel on the right. They walked for what seemed like ages until they met another wall of rocks.

"Great! Your plans have lead us to another dead end!"

"At least I'm thinking of ideas, _Moku._ "

"Wait, we're thinkin' of ideas?" Chong asked. Ellie face-palmed. "'Cause I've had an idea for an hour now."

"Yes!" Sokka shrieked. "We're _all_ thinking of ideas!"

"Well, if the key to getting out of here is love, why don't we play a love song?"

Sokka face-palmed as the crazy hippie began singing about love.

" _Even if you're lost you can't lose the love because it's in your heart…"_

Ellie sure hoped that they would get out of the tunnel soon, for she was beginning to hate this song.

OA

Zuko sat outside Song's house. He didn't have time to be sitting around eating dinner with peasants. He wanted to move on, look for the Avatar. When Song had come out to speak with him, he had tried to get away from her pity and affection. She reminded him oddly of Ellie. Even as Song spoke with him, he wasn't listening to her. He was wondering whether Ellie was all right, where ever she was.

He couldn't help but wonder whether he would ever see the girl again. Somehow, deep down, he knew he would.

OA

Aang and Katara looked around the tomb they had found.

"Look!" Aang exclaimed, pointing to a series of pictures. "This must be their story!"

"They met on top of the mountain that divided their two villages," Katara said, looking at the pictures. "The villages were enemies, so they could not be together…The two lovers learned earthbending from the badgermoles and built elaborate tunnels so they could be together. Anyone who would try to follow them would be trapped in the tunnels forever…" she touched the last few words that were underneath a picture of the two lovers kissing. "Love is brightest in the dark."

The two of them stood there in silence, wondering what they should do next. Then, Aang voiced both of their worries, "How are we going to get out of the tunnels?"

"I have a crazy idea," Katara replied.

"What?"

Katara turned and moved away slightly.

"Never mind. It's too crazy," she said.

"Katara, what is it?" Aang pressed.

"I was thinking," Katara said, trailing off for a moment. "The curse says we'll be trapped forever unless we trust in love…"

"Right…" Aang replied awkwardly.

"And here," Katara continued. "It says love is brightest in the dark and has a picture of them kissing."

"Where are you going with this?' Aang asked, even though both of them could feel where it was going.

"Well," Katara replied, blush spreading across her cheeks. "What if we kissed?"

"Us kissing?" Aang asked, shocked.

"See, I told you it was crazy," Katara said.

"Us—kissing," Aang said with a smile.

"Us kissing! What was I thinking?"

"Yeah, hehe," Aang said, trying to fake not liking her. "I definitely wouldn't want to kiss you."

But instantly he knew he had said the wrong thing, for Katara's eyes gleamed with anger and disappointment.

"Oh, well!" Katara exclaimed. "I didn't realize it was such a horrible option! Sorry I suggested it!"

Aang tried pointlessly to backtrack, "No, no, I mean…if it was a choice between kissing you and dying…"

"Ugh!"

"What? I was saying I would rather kiss you than die!" Aang said, almost pleading. "That's a compliment."

"Well I'm not sure which I'd rather do!" Katara huffed, stuffing their torch into his hands and stalking away.

"What is wrong with me?" Aang asked dejectedly, hanging his head.

OA

Outside of Song's home, Iroh bowed, holding a box in his hands.

"Thank you for the duck," he said. "It was excellent."

"Your welcome," the elderly woman replied . "It brings me pleasure to see someone eat my cooking with such…gusto."

Iroh patted his stomach contentedly.

"Much practice," he replied.

Zuko turned to leave, but Iroh stopped him.

"Junior, where are your manners. You must thank these kind people for our dinner."

Zuko bowed.

"Thank you," he grunted quietly.

Song's mother left and Song herself followed with one last glance behind her. Her eyes caught on Lee, who was taking their ostrich horse out of the stable.

"These people just showed you great kindness!" the kind old man hissed.

"They're about to show us a bit more kindness," the younger one muttered, slinging himself on the back of the creature. "Well?" he asked, reaching out a hand.

Mushi hesitated before taking the hand and climbing aboard the ostrich horse. Song sadly closed the door as they rode away, wondering what kind of person would be desperate enough to steal from someone that just helped them.

OA

Aang looked down at the dwindling light his torch was giving off. The fire was burning very low above his hand.

"We're about to run out of light any second now, aren't we?" he asked, facing Katara.

"I think so…" Katara replied, trailing off slightly.

"Then what are we going to do?" the Avatar questioned.

"What _can_ we do?" Katara responded.

She walked over to Aang and silently grabbed hold of his hand. Aang smiled up at her. The two leaned closer to each other as the light faded all together, then they broke apart as the tunnel was lit with a brilliant blue glow.

OA

Chong stopped playing his guitar suddenly as their group could hear a rasping growl echo through the tunnels. Sokka looked up as Momo flew from his shoulders and they all turned to look behind them, Ellie in a ready stance with her hands held in front of her. Seconds later, hundreds of wolfbats flew out of the darkness straight towards Sokka.

"Get it off! Get it off!" he shrieked, flailing his arms like a windmill.

They all continued to fly down the tunnel and away from the travelers.

"He-hey!" Chong exclaimed. "You saved us, Sokka!"

"No!" Sokka corrected. "They were trying to get away from something."

He rubbed his head as Momo landed on his back. Ellie turned the other way to see the hippies staring at Sokka in apprehension.

"Away from what?" Chong asked.

There was a rumble and rocks flew everywhere as an enormous creature burst through the wall behind Sokka. Ellie, still facing towards the hippies saw another of the creatures bust through the wall behind them so that they were surrounded. As the dust settled, Ellie looked into their blind eyes and remembered—

"Badgermoles!" she exclaimed.

One of the badgermoles put its paws together, causing the entrance to a tunnel to close. The other one pounded the ground with both paws. Walls came up blocking all other exits. One of them caused the ground to split, separating the nomads from Sokka. All of this happened so fast, Ellie did not have a chance to think about firebending.

Sokka tried to avoid a swipe and fell back, he fingers plucking the strings of a lute. The badgermole swiping at his stopped and cocked its head. Sokka stood, picking up the lute, and began to play randomly.

"Hey, those things are music lovers!" Chong exclaimed.

The giant creatures quieted as Sokka sang, " _Badgermoles coming towards me. C'mon guys, help me out!_ "

At this point, Chong began playing on his guitar and sang, " _The big, bad badgermoles who earthbend the tunnels, hate the wolfbats, but love the sounds_!"

OA

Aang and Katara both stared at the crystals that were glowing in the ceiling of the tunnel. They both still holding hands, the now dead torch under Aang's hand.

"They're made of some king of crystal," Aang observed. "They must only light up in the dark."

"That's how the two lovers found each other!" Katara explained, she gestured her free hand toward ceiling. "They just put out their lights and followed crystals. That must be the way out!"

The two hugged each other.

"So, uh…." Aang started as they pulled away.

"Let's go!" Katara exclaimed. Aang's face fell briefly, but then he shook his head and smiled.

He and Appa followed after Katara, and soon they were blinking in the sunlight. Appa, the last one to reach the end of the tunnel, bounded out and flopped onto his back with his tongue lolling out, bathing in the sun.

"What about Sokka?" Aang asked Katara.

But they weren't kept worried for long, as there was a rumble and two openings appeared on either side of the tunnel Aang and Katara had come out of. Emerging out of the two openings were two badgermoles. Sokka was guiding the one on the left while Ellie was guiding the one on the right.

"Sokka!" Katara exclaimed.

Sokka waved and slid off his badgermole. Ellie did the same and the two of them walked over.

"How did you guys escape?" Sokka asked.

"Just like the legend says," Aang replied. "We let love lead the way."

"Really?" Sokka questioned. "We let big ferocious beast lead _our_ way."

He turned around and waved again, this time to the badgermoles, who turned slowly and returned to the mountain, their worm like tails swishing behind them. The tunnels they had created disappeared in a clash of dust and rocks.

Ellie and Katara hugged while Sokka stood there (most likely to dramatize their story to his sister) and Aang ran off to say good-bye to the nomads. Then, Katara hugged Sokka. As they pulled away, she asked her brother, "Why is your forehead all red?"

Just then Chong sidled up and said quietly, "Nobody react to what I'm about to say, but I think that kid might be the Avatar!"

Sokka smacked his forehead and the two girls laughed softly. Chong looked at the teenage boy in confusion.

"So are you guys going to come to Omashu with us?" Aang was asking.

"Nope," Mushu replied.

"Okay," Aang said.

He waved as the four of them were joined by Chong and started down the path.

" _Even if you're lost you can't lose the love because it's in your heart. Mmm-m-m-mm."_

The four children smiled and made their way in the opposite direction; straight up the hill. As they did so, Sokka said, "The journey was long an annoying, but now you get to see what it's really about: the destination. I present to you the Earth Kingdom city of O—" they rounded the hill and stopped short at the sight of a red flag flapping in the wind above the city. "Oh no."

* * *

 **I realize that this chapter is mostly copied, but as I said before, the next chapter should start picking up again. I'll leave you to interpret what that means ;) Next up: Return to Omashu.**

 **~LittleMissMycroft.**


	15. Part 2: Air Raising Confrontations

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: the Last Airbender**

* * *

 **Chapter Three: Air Raising Confrontations**

"I can't believe it," Aang murmured as the four of them faced the city, three of them staring at it in shock. "I know the War has come far, but Omashu always seemed…untouchable."

"Up until know it was," Sokka said, folding his arms across his chest. "Now Ba Sing Se is the only great Earth Kingdom stronghold left."

"This is horrible," Katara stated, walking up to Aang before adding, "but we have to move on."

"No, I'm going to find Bumi."

"Aang, stop," Sokka interrupted. "We don't even know if Bumi is still—"

"What?" Aang shot back angrily. "If he's still _what?_ "

"A-around," Sokka backtracked.

Katara added, "I know you had your heart set on Bumi, but there are other earthbending teachers out there."

"This isn't about finding a teacher," Aang said, turning to face the city once again. "It's about finding a friend."

They climbed aboard Appa, and Aang took them down below the pathway that led to the main gates. Katara and Sokka began rummaging in their bags.

"What are you doing?" Ellie asked.

"We're getting something else to put on," Katara explained. "We don't want to arrive in a city that's captured by the Fire Nation dressed in bright blue."

She pulled out two cloaks that were both dark and put one on, then she handed the other to Sokka.

"Speaking of," Sokka said. "If we don't to be noticed, you should probably to something about your hair."

"Oh," Ellie said, looking down at her hair.

"Is that natural, by the way?" Sokka asked her.

Ellie nodded.

"It's been this light for as long as I can remember."

"Here," Katara said, handing her a dark piece of cloth. "Wrap this around your head."

"Thanks," Ellie said, pulling the cloth over her hair before wrapping it around her neck and tossing the ends to her back.

Moments later they landed on a ledge that was still at least a hundred feet up from the ground. The airbender then hopped up onto a sewage grate and started to pry it off with his staff.

"A secret passage?" Sokka asked. "Why didn't we just use this before?"

Aang finally managed to pop the cover off and green slime spilled out onto Ellie, Sokka, and Katara.

"Ugh!" Sokka exclaimed.

"Does that answer your question?" Aang asked, hopping inside the sewer.

"Ew!" Sokka shouted with a hand clamped over his mouth as he climbed in after.

Katara and Ellie followed silently.

They walked up the steady incline, wading through sludge. Most of it was rushing down rather fast, so Aang conjured a ball of air that deflected the slime. The slime that missed Aang, went down to Katara, who waterbent it out of her way and into Ellie, who also used waterbending to stay dry, leaving Sokka to be splashed repeatedly in the mouth.

After the tunnel had grown almost entirely dark, Aang finally found another grate and lifted it up enough so that he could gaze out into the street. It was now night, and the street was entirely deserted. At seeing this, Aang slid the lid to the side and airbent his way out onto the ground above.

Katara climbed up after him and said as she helped Ellie up, "That wasn't so bad as I thought."

The two girls dusted themselves off just as slimed oozed up onto the street they were standing on. A body followed, looking like some sort of sludge monster. It was Sokka, groaning and walking forward like a zombie. The other three children's mouths dropped open and Katara spotted some water in a barrel nearby. She used waterbending to levitate it in the air, before splashing the slime off her brother.

"Ow!" Sokka exclaimed, stumbling back as he was drenched all the way through. Noticing this, Aang directed a large gust of air his way to dry off the older boy.

"Eek-ah-aagh!" Sokka shouted. When the wind stopped, he bent over, panting for a second before he felt something on his face. He tried to pull them off, but they seemed to be made of elastic. Panicking, he began to shout, "AAH! They won't let go! HELP!"

" _Shhh!_ " Aang hushed, shoving him against the nearest wall. "Stop making so much noise. It's just a purple pentapus."

As the pentapi continued to suck on Sokka's face, his eyes widened in fear. Aang rubbed the pentapi and they let go, allowing Aang to pull them off.

"Hey!" a man shouted as Aang pulled off the last squid-like creature.

Ellie turned to see three Fire Nation soldiers walking up to them. Quickly, Aang ducked behind the other three and wrapped his belt sash around his arrow.

"What are you kids doing out after curfew?" one of the soldiers asked.

"Sorry," Katara said. "We were just on our way home."

The four of them turned and began walking away from them, up the street.

"Wait," the man said, causing them to pause nervously. "What's the matter with your friend?"

Katara looked at the spots the pentapi left on Sokka's neck.

"He has pentapox, sir," she lied, turning her brother around to face the man as he walked up. As the soldier reached out to touch Sokka's face, Katara halted him by saying, "Um, it's highly contagious!"

The man's hand withdrew and Sokka began staggering around.

"Oh, it's so awful," Sokka moaned. "I'm dying!"

"And deadly," Ellie finished.

The man backed into the other two officers and Sokka staggered forward, coughing.

"Hey, I think I've heard of pentapox," the leader said, turning to the one in the mask. "Didn't your cousin die of it?"

"We'd better go wash our hands," the third soldier said.

"And burn our clothes!" the leader added.

As they ran off, the four children smiled.

"Thank you sewer friend," Aang said, rubbing the pentapus, which was now on his hand.

They then ran off, looking around. They had come out of the sewers near the center of the city. Quickly, Aang dodged behind a stack of metal sheets and the others followed as two masked guards walked by.

"Let's find Bumi and get out of here," Katara said, her eyes following the guards as they disappeared down a set of stairs.

"Where would they be keeping him?" Sokka asked.

"Somewhere where he can't bend," Aang replied. He glanced all around the city. "Somewhere made of metal."

And they ran out from behind their hiding place, heading for the metal structure at the top of the city. Suddenly, a couple of boulders began rolling down one of the old mail chutes. Ellie looked from them, down to their target; four lights that undoubtedly belonged to the Governor's family.

Aang turned and saw them as well. Instinctively, he blew the boulders off course, looking down at the people below. One of the women spotted him amidst the cloud of dust, and shouted, "It's the resistance!"

The other woman, this one much younger—probably a teenager—thrust her hands forward and darts cut across the air, landing in the boards that Aang ducked behind. Within seconds, men were running towards them and the four tweens were darting away. The young woman practically flew up to the ledge they were on. Katara turned and whipped her with a string of water. The strange teenager threw more darts and Katara turned the water to an ice shield. Then, Ellie melted the water before freezing it onto the ground, grabbing Katara, and running as the Fire Nation girl slid off the ledge.

Sokka, who was in front, paused to look behind them. The girl was nowhere to be seen. The next second, they were shouting in surprise as the floor slid out from underneath them. Next thing Ellie knew, they had landed in some sort of underground room and were surrounded by Earth Kingdom men.

As the leader (who told them his name was Yung) led them to the rest of the resistance, Aang asked, "So is King Bumi with you guys? Is he leading the resistance?"

"Of course not," Yung replied. "The day of the invasion, we readied ourselves for battle. We were prepared to defend our city. To fight for our lives and our freedom. But before we even had a chance, King Bumi surrendered. He told us to do nothing. It doesn't matter now. Fighting the Fire Nation is the only path to freedom. And freedom is worth dying for."

"Actually there's another path to freedom," Aang said. "You could leave Omashu. You're directing all your energy to fighting the Fire Nation, but you're outnumbered. You can't win. Now's the time to retreat, so you can live to fight another day."

"You don't understand," Yung retorted. "They're taken our home and we have to fight them at any cost!"

"I don't know Yung," another Resistance Fighter said at Yung's elbow. "Living to fight another day is starting to sound pretty good to me."

Another man stepped forward, shouting, "Yeah, I'm with the kid!"

Murmurs of assent rippled through the people below.

"Fine," Yung grunted. "But there's thousands of citizens that need to leave. How are we going to get out?"

"Suckers!" Sokka exclaimed. Ellie could practically see a light bulb being lit above his head.

Katara raised an eyebrow and stared at her brother in confusion.

"You're all about to come down with a nasty case of pentapox!"

His plan was set into action the next morning. If one walked into the main square, they would have seen buckets of water filled with pentapus and people that were absolutely covered in the creatures. Once the pentapi were removed, everyone was covered in red spots.

"The marks make you look sick, but you gotta act sick too," Sokka told the citizens. "You gotta sell it."

An old man with a cane hobbled out of the crowd moaning piteously.

"Now that's more like it!" Sokka exclaimed.

"Years of practice," the old man said with a smile, tapping a wooden leg with his cane.

"Okay everyone!" Sokka shouted. "Into sick formation!"

And they all began to walk forward, Ellie and Sokka in the lead. Towards the back Katara turned to join them, but stopped as she spotted Aang walking the other direction.

"Aang!" she said. "What are you doing? Aren't you coming with us?"

"No," Aang replied. "Not until I find Bumi."

Momo, who was curled around Aang's shoulder, tugged on the boy's lip.

"Sorry Momo," Aang said, setting the lemur on the ground. "I'll feed you later."

And he flew off, leaving Katara to join the formation.

OA

Ellie thought it was rather fun as all of the people flooded towards the gates from different points in the city, making grotesque faces and piteous moaning noises. A few people fell over and began crawling while others staggered like zombies. And at the front formation were Katara, Sokka, and Ellie. Soon, a bell started ringing as shouts ran through the city, "Plague! _Plague!_ "

OA

Momo, hungry from not being fed, flew to the nearest house. Instantly, he spotted a bowl of cherries sitting on the table. The lemur flew over and landed beside the bowl. He shoved fistfuls of berries into his mouth and spit the seeds into the corner of the room. As he continued to eat, he felt something pull on his tail.

Letting out a shriek of pain, Momo tried to fly away, but something was still holding onto his tail, pulling him down; it was a human baby. The instant the baby let go, Momo leapt to the window and flew to the railing outside. Relieved, he turned, only to spot the monster on the railing behind him!

Not wanting to be grabbed again, the lemur flew off the banister and over the city. While he flew, he spotted more cherries. Momo landed on the shipment of cherries and stuffed his mouth once again. A split-second later, the baby appeared out of the berries and grabbed his tail again.

Momo flew off of the chute with some difficulty and slowly went down until they crash landed on the ground below. The baby rolled backwards right onto Momo's back.

Momo chattered angrily, flapping his free wing, but lemur and child both stopped and looked with interest as hundreds of moaning people passed by them. The baby sat up and, seeing his chance, Momo bounded between the legs of the people and out of the gates of the city.

OA

After Aang found Flopsy, freed the beast, and then searched as much of the city as possible, he finally returned to the others. He was greeted by Sokka, Katara, and Ellie.

"We looked everywhere," he explained. "No Bumi."

Katara hugged Aang and Sokka and Ellie patted Flopsy's nose sympathetically. The moment was interrupted as Yung walked up.

"We've got a problem," he said. "We just did a head count."

"Oh no!" Katara exclaimed. "Did someone get left behind?"

"No," Yung said slowly, "We have an extra."

He jabbed his thumb over his shoulder, pointing to where a young boy in Fire Nation attire was being dragged by a desperately annoyed Momo.

Team Avatar and Yung returned to the others. Team Avatar had a fire all to themselves and were sitting around it as the baby crawled up. He stumbled and fell on his bottom. Then, he grabbed Sokka's club and stuck it in his mouth.

"No!" Sokka said sternly, snatching his club out of the baby's hands. "Bad Fire Nation baby!"

The boy began crying and Katara smacked her brother.

"No it's all right," Ellie said, after laughing at Sokka's pain. "Here."

She reached into her belt and pulled out the knife Zuko gave her. Making sure it was safely in its scabbard, she handed it to the baby, who played with it, making cooing sounds.

"Oh you're so cute!" Katara exclaimed, picking the baby up and squeezing him.

Ellie watched sadly. The boy reminded her of her youngest brother. Then, she was whipped out of her nostalgia as she noticed that the baby had dropped her knife and Sokka had picked it up. While Yung was being his usual depressing self and talking to Katara, Ellie watched as Sokka slid the knife out of its scabbard.

"'Never give up without a fight,'" he read. He looked at Ellie. "Where did you get this?"

"Oh!" Ellie started. "I—uh—well, I got it when I was with Zuko."

Katara looked closely at her and Aang stopped as well. Sokka, however, slid the knife back into its case and handed it back to her. Ellie looked at it for a long moment and then tucked it carefully into her belt. The girl realized, as she leaned back against Appa's side, that she hadn't really told any of them much about her past.

Her thoughts were interrupted as there was a piercing cry and a scarlet bird landed on the rocks nearby.

"A messenger hawk!" Yung stated.

Aang got up and unfurled the scroll, his eyes scanning across the indecipherable characters.

"It's from the Fire Nation governor," Aang told them. "He says he wants to make a trade…his son for King Bumi!"

That night Aang and Sokka got into their sleeping bags up in Appa's saddle and the girls got ready to sleep down below; Katara in her sleeping bag, and Ellie underneath her sad little blanket. The two girls faced each other as the fire slowly died away. After a second of thoughtful silence, Katara asked Ellie quietly, "Was there ever more to your relationship with Zuko other than you being his prisoner?"

"That obvious huh?" Ellie asked with a groan. "I guess you could say that I developed a small crush on him after being stuck with him long enough…not that he liked me back."

"I couldn't imagine falling for a man like Zuko," Katara said. "Was he mean to you?"

"At first," Ellie said. "Or at least he tried. Then he cooled off once he realized I wasn't a threat."

"Did he not know that you are an Avatar?"

"No," Ellie said with a reassuring smile. "Iroh did, though. He really is a kind man. He is with Zuko to make sure that he is safe."

"Why is Zuko so obsessed with capturing Aang?" Katara asked after another thoughtful pause.

"It's his only way to return home," Ellie said.

Done with the conversation, she rolled over and faced the dying embers. Katara rolled over as well, facing Appa. Ellie ran her finger across the surface of the knife for a few seconds before she closed her eyes and thought of home for the first time since she had joined Team Avatar.

OA

The next morning, Team Avatar set off for the spot they had agreed to meet the Governor. The baby being held by Aang, slumped against the airbender's shoulder.

"You realize we're probably walking right into a trap," Sokka said as they climbed aboard Appa.

"I don't think so," Aang said. "I'm sure the Governor wants his son back as much as we want Bumi. It's a new day."

He smiled down at the boy, who was sleeping. Sokka harrumphed in disbelief, but Katara looked thoughtful again. Ellie was sure that she had opened the other girl's mind. Ellie herself smiled as Aang called, "Yip, yip!" and they soared into the sky.

OA

Ellie knew that the plan was going to change, but it became evident to the others as three girls walked up onto the platform Team Avatar was on instead of the Governor. Aang, Sokka, and Katara watched the three Fire Nation girls warily and Ellie instinctively shifted into a firebending stance. Both parties were silent for a moment, and the silence was broken by the cackling of an old man. As Ellie looked up to see a metal trap being lowered, King Bumi shouted, "Hi everybody!"

Aang smiled at the sight of his old friend and turned his attention back to the three girls. Bumi's cage landed with a thud behind them.

"You've got my brother?" the one in front asked in a monotonous voice.

"He's here!" Aang called back.

Ellie turned to look at the baby, who was now fastened in a sling across Sokka's chest. The baby boy was tugging on Sokka's lip.

"We're ready to trade!"

"I'm sorry, but a thought just occurred to me," the girl on the right interrupted. "Do you mind?"

"Of course not, Princess Azula," the one in front replied.

"We're trading a two-year-old for a _king_ ," Azula continued. "A powerful earthbending king?" Bumi nodded. "It just doesn't seem like a fair trade, does it?"

"You're right," the other girl agreed. She then turned to Team Avatar and shouted, "The deal's off!"

"Woah!" Bumi exclaimed as his cage lurched and was pulled back into the sky. "See you all later!"

"Bumi!" Aang shouted, running forward.

Azula leapt forward and shot a huge plume of blue fire at the boy with a grunt. Ellie ran in range of the fire and redirected it before shooting her own blast at Azula. Meanwhile, Aang shot into the air and whipped his glider out. He realized that the wind was tugging his belt off his head and tried to grab it with his teeth, but failed miserably.

Azula's eyes narrowed at Ellie and her eyes went up and down her. Ellie realized that she recognized her from when Azula tried to capture Zuko—Ellie had still been with him at the time. Then, Azula's eyes shot up where she caught sight of Aang's flying in tight circles, up towards Bumi.

"The Avatar," Azula muttered as she spotted Aang's airbending tattoo. "My lucky day."

And with that, she grabbed a chain and kicked a wheel it was attached to, jerking her upward at alarming speeds. Ellie ran forward, bent water out of the air, gripped with chain with it, and followed them up. Above, Aang began freezing the chain holding Bumi's cage, trying to free him. Below, the other two girls advanced upon Sokka and Katara.

"We've got to get the baby out of here!" Katara shouted.

"Way ahead of you!" Sokka exclaimed, blowing on Aang's bison whistle.

The two Water Tribe teens ran toward the end of the platform. Sokka felt something jab his foot and he tripped, sliding to where his head was hanging off the platform. Katara watched as the pink girl cartwheeled out of a hole in the platform and began bouncing toward Sokka. Then, she turned just in time to see the darkly dressed girl shoot darts at her.

Katara whipped boards up to use as shields with water and the darts thudded into them. Then, she hurled them towards the pale girl, whipped the water around, and grabbed the pink one by the ankle. Before he could be attacked again, Sokka slid down the nearest ladder and went in search for Appa.

Ellie turned from the scene below and watched as rafter after rafter whipped by. She looked up to see that Azula was still above her and then glanced over at where Aang was still blowing on Bumi's chain. The ice had grown minimally.

"Aang!" Bumi shouted. "Stop your blowing for a minute!"

Ellie looked up wildly as Azula burst through the top sheet of wood, shot a blast of fire at Aang, and landed on a pole. Ellie began to doubt her judgement as the chain began to fall again and she let out a scream.

Azula looked down and saw the blonde girl falling faster than they had gone up. Then, she saw as the girl landed on a large pocket of air.

"What?" she muttered, glancing from the girl to the boy. "There's _two_ of them?"

While she was distracted, Aang whacked the chain with his staff causing it to snap. He then made a pillow of air underneath Bumi's cage until they landed on a mail chute and slid down it, sparks flying.

Ellie opened her eyes to see that she was floating face down on a pillow of air. She willed to be put down and the air rotated her and she fell to the ground on her bottom with a skid.

"I did that?" she wondered aloud. Then she exclaimed, "I did that!"

She motioned her hand in quick circles around herself and air swirled around her legs. More and more swirled until Ellie was sitting atop a giant tornado. Then, as she reached Azula, the air stopped, and she kicked the largest blast of fire at the princess, using both feet. Azula lost her balance and began to fall, but she kicked fire out from under her and her fall slowed enough so that she landed on a mail chute like a cat.

"Really?!" Ellie exclaimed, landing on a pole herself and clinging to it for dear life.

Aang was laughing.

"Just like old times, isn't it, Bumi?" he asked.

"Aang!" Bumi shouted over the rushing wind. "I need to talk to you!"

"It's good to see you too!" Aang replied, completely misunderstanding what the man actually said.

Then he looked to the side and saw Azula sliding beside him in another chute.

Ellie shut her eyes tight before letting go of the pole. Then, she opened them with a scream and bent a stream of air beneath her that shot her forward and caused her to flip over. She landed on her feet (thankfully) on the chute Aang was currently on. While her momentum was still going, Ellie made a windmill motion with both her arms before directing them down the chute and blowing. Orbs of water appeared in the air, floated down to the surface of the chute, and froze. Ellie continued to slide as more ice appeared in front of her and the ice behind melted and disappeared.

Ellie caught up to Aang in no time and soon her waterbending was freezing the dust Bumi's cage was kicking up. The blonde girl watched as Aang turned briefly to see her sliding on ice directly behind him.

"How are you doing that?" he shouted to her.

"I have no idea!" Ellie exclaimed, her upper body wobbling slightly. Then, she screamed, "Look out!"

Aang turned to see that Azula's chute connected to his. As he and Ellie shot into it (Ellie was now holding onto Bumi's cage and still sliding on ice) Azula followed seconds later.

"Duck!" Aang shouted to Ellie.

She did so and he whipped a bout of air toward Azula. The princess dodged it and sent a blast of fire their way. Ellie hopped onto the metal trap and redirected the fire at the same time. As Azula continued to blast fire at them, Aang was using air to make them go faster and Ellie was shooting her own blasts of fire back.

Then, they slid underneath a wooden structure of sorts that had poles on either side of the chute. Aang instructed Ellie to duck again, and then sliced the structure with a dice of air and it collapsed on Azula. The two continued to watch for a moment and saw Azula's ride slide out of the wreckage—seemingly empty. Then, the princess appeared from within it with a blast of blue fire.

"Aaaah!" Aang exclaimed.

Meanwhile, Katara was still dueling the pale girl, whipping water back and forth. Then, a tendril of water snaked up the teen's dart arm and froze. The girl struggled, but Katara held steady. Then, she felt a sharp pain as she received two quick blows to her left shoulder and side. Then two more quick blows; to her right shoulder and side. The water fell and Katara turned to see the pink girl cartwheel away.

Katara swooped her arms around, trying to bend the water that was now lying useless on the floor.

"How are you gonna fight without your bending?" the darkly dressed one taunted.

"I seem to manage!" Sokka exclaimed, appeared on Appa's back, and caught his boomerang, which had just knocked a menacing looked dart from the Fire Nation girl's hand. Sokka then landed Appa, who slapped his tail down. Air whipped out and blasted the two girls back.

Then, they pulled Appa up quickly and scoured the city for signs of movement.

"There they are!" Katara stated, pointing to the chute where Aang and Ellie were standing on Bumi's cage. A second later, they saw Azula charging after them.

"We can catch 'em!" Sokka shouted, pulling on the reigns and lowering Appa down to the chute.

Azula was shooting slice after slice of fire at them. Aang deflected them with his staff while Ellie shot a mixture of fire, air, and spears made of air-water towards the princess. Aang glanced over and saw Appa. Then, he shouted, "Hang on, guys, our ride's here!"

Azula shot a blast of fire at Appa, which Sokka swiftly avoided. Then, Aang whipped air around them, causing them to fly off the chute and straight over Appa. Katara and Sokka tried to catch the metal cage, but their fingertips barely grazed its surface and the three found themselves falling again.

Aang let out a yell, Ellie shrieked shrilly, and Bumi shouted, "Aang!"

Ellie slid forward and narrowly avoided squashing Bumi'd face while Aang nearly fell off the back. After they were safely secure, they hit a chute before falling back onto the one they were on before. Azula created a blue spinning pinwheel of death and sent it towards them. Ellie's eyes widened and when Bumi saw it, he grunted, thrust his chin up, and blocked the fire with a slab of earth.

"You could earthbend?" Aang shouted. "All along?"

"Well they didn't cover my face!" Bumi replied happily.

As they reached the bottom, Bumi raised a ramp of earth that the cage landed on. Aang and Ellie landed on their feet a few feet away, facing him.

"I don't understand," Aang said angrily. "Why didn't you free yourself? Why did you surrender when Omashu was invaded? What's the matter with you, Bumi?"

"Listen to me, Aang," Bumi said calmly. "There are options in fighting called jing. It's a choice of how you direct your energy."

"I know!" Aang shouted, still sounding annoyed. "There's positive jing when attacking and negative jing when you're retreating!"

"And neutral jing!" Bumi added. "Where you do—nothing!"

"There are three jings?" Aang asked, all anger now gone from his voice.

"Well technically there are eighty five, but let's just focus on the third," Bumi corrected. "Neutral jing is the key to earthbending. It involves listening and waiting to strike."

"That's why you surrendered," Aang said, beginning to understand.

"Yes, and it's why I can't leave now," Bumi added.

Aang turned around sadly.

"I guess I need to find someone else to teach me earthbending," he said.

"You teacher will be someone who has mastered the third jing. You need to find someone who waits and listens before striking."

Momo landed on Aang's shoulder just then and the boy cried happily, "Hey, Momo!"

"Momo has mastered a few jings himself!"

Momo screeched loudly at Bumi.

"Goodbye, Aang," Bumi said. "I'll see you when the time is right."

And he transformed the ramp into a boulder and used it to roll himself back up the chute. As the others arrived on Appa behind them, Aang turned to Ellie, "I guess you finally unlocked your airbending."

"Yeah," she said. "The trick is to drop me from deadly heights, and apparently I'll figure it out."

OA

"So we're tracking down your brother and Uncle, huh?" the darkly dressed Mai asked her friend.

Ty Lee, the bubbly one, turned to face Mai.

"It'll be interesting seeing Zuko again, won't it Mai?"

Mai looked away, a rare smile tinging her pallid face.

"It's not just Zuko and Iroh anymore," Azula said from inside her palanquin. "We have a third target now.

OA

That night, Aang landed on the roof of the governor's house. He looked at the man and his wife, who were facing the city. Then, he dropped down from the roof and set the baby on the ground, who toddled toward his parents. Aang then flew off. The last thing he heard was a motherly cry of, "Tom-tom!" before he had reached Appa.

* * *

 **This one's pretty fun. Ellie unlocks her airbending, and Azula figures out that there are two Avatars. Next up is the swamp, and it will feature a lot more insight into Ellie. Hope you enjoyed! Remember to review. Just a warning, I may not update again for a little while. My year always explodes after Christmas. This does not mean I have abandoned the story :)**

 **~LittleMissMycroft**


	16. Part 2: Times of Swamp Illusions

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: the Last Airbender**

 **I will warn you before you get into it, this one is a bit choppy because I have to keep switching from different perspectives. Now, on with the show!**

* * *

 **Chapter Four: Times of Swamp Illusions**

Ellie soon found out that Team Avatar, while they had more adventures, didn't really do much in their down-time. While Ellie was used to grueling training with Zuko, occasional sessions with Iroh, and constant worrying about being the Avatar, Team Avatar was very different.

Katara was helping both Aang and Ellie learn waterbending; the blonde girl was already better than the other Avatar; and they took constant breaks and stopped whenever one of them got tired. Aang was now instructing Ellie how to control her airbending again. He taught her about being light on her toes, about how to gauge the strength of her gusts, and about meditation and other spiritual stuff.

While they weren't training, they would sit around their campfire and Sokka would tell the most ridiculous jokes. Or they would be flying, like they were at that moment. Currently, they were flying over miles and miles of swamp. Sokka was sharpening his machete, Katara was inspecting a waterbending scroll, and Ellie was sewing.

She had gone to Katara soon after Omashu and had told her that she needed her own waterskin pouch. So then Katara had helped her cut out the patterns for the pouch (made of seal leather) and taught Ellie how to sew. Then, she gave the girl some of her blue beads and taught her how to do things like braid rope. All the while, Katara watched the girl with curiosity, wondering why she didn't know how to do the simplest things. The Water Tribe guessed if Ellie was some sort of royalty.

But this was why Ellie was sewing her now almost finished pouch to a strap made of red braided ropes. The fourteen-year-old looked up from her project as she heard Sokka ask, "Hey, are you taking us down for a reason?"

Ellie looked up and over the side of the saddle to see the swamp slowly rising towards them. Then, she glanced at Aang, who was staring at the ground.

"Aang!" Sokka snapped. Aang jumped out of his trance. "Why are we going down?"

"What?" Aang asked in confusion. He rubbed his eyes. "I didn't even notice."

Aang looked to see that they were still lowering slowly.

"Are you noticing now?" Sokka quipped.

Katara moved to the front of the saddle to join Sokka.

"Is something wrong?" she asked.

"Just Aang having some weird Avatar moments," Ellie said, not looking up from where she was finishing up her pouch.

"Hey!" Aang shot back. "You're an Avatar too!"

"In my defense," Ellie replied, finally looking up and pointing her needle at him, "I didn't even know until earlier this year." She looked back down at her pouch. "I'm not the one falling into trances all over the place."

"I wasn—I just—I think the swamp is calling to me!" Aang sputtered.

"My point exactly," Ellie said, waving her free hand.

"Is it telling you where we can find something to eat?" Sokka asked Aang, grabbing his stomach as it growled loudly.

"No, I…" Aang responded, trailing off. "I think it wants us to land there."

Sokka shrugged, "No offense to the swamp, but I don't think there's any land there for us to land _on_."

"I don't know," Aang muttered. "Bumi said to learn earthbending I would have to wait and listen, and now I'm actually hearing the earth. Do you think I should ignore it?"

Sokka's eyes peeked over the side of the saddle.

"Yes," he squeaked.

Ellie crawled over and joined the other two.

"I don't know," Katara murmured. "There's something ominous about that place."

"Two words," Ellie added. "Swamp. Monster."

Momo hid as Appa let out a groan.

"See?" Sokka pointed out. "Even Appa and Momo don't like it here."

Aang sighed in resignation.

"Okay," he muttered. "Since everyone feels so strongly about it," he looked down at the swamp. "Bye swamp…Yip, yip!"

Appa groaned again as he soared upward, Aang tugging on his reigns. Then, there was a loud roar and Ellie turned to see an enormous tornado destroying the ground behind them.

"You better throw in an extra yip!" Sokka shouted. "We gotta move!"

Appa flew faster, trying to avoid the tornado, but he wasn't quite fast enough. As the tornado drew closer, Ellie's hair was whipped around her face. Then, the wind pulled Sokka straight out of the saddle. Katara grabbed his hand. Aang hopped up onto the saddle and bent a ball of air around them to keep them in the saddle. Aang held it the best he could, but slowly the ball shrank. First only one of Appa's paws was outside it. Then his entire leg.

Seconds later, the ball of air dissipated and the four of them were being flung into the air. Ellie managed to keep a hold of Appa's saddle, and closed her eyes tight as they landed with an enormous splash. She opened them again and wiped her now sopping hair out of her face, glancing around. She had fallen over the side of Appa's saddle and had landed in the knee deep water below on her bottom. Momo flew down and landed on Appa's head.

Ellie stood and glanced around. The others were nowhere to be seen.

OA

"Sokka, you've got an elbow leech," Katara said, pointing.

"Where?! Where?!" Sokka exclaimed.

"Where do you think?" Katara questioned, crossing her arms with a smirk.

Sokka ripped the leech off his elbow, exclaiming, "Why do things keep attaching to me?!"

Aang swung over a muddy vine and landed softly in the water in between two of his friends.

"You couldn't find them?" Katara asked.

"No," Aang replied. "And the tornado…it just disappeared."

OA

The blonde girl looked around the swamp. The swamp, dimmer than the outside world, was mostly muddy water with trees and vines growing here or there. A faint fog drifted along the ground.

Ellie then climbed up onto Appa's back and sat on his neck, holding the reigns but not steering. Momo sat on her shoulders and Appa wandered through the swamp. While he did so, Ellie practiced her airbending by creating a ball of air and playing with it. She figured that she should have suspected this would happen; of course she would be the one person separated from the others.

OA

"We better speed things up," Sokka said, hacking through some vines to make a path.

"Maybe we should be a little nicer to the swamp," Aang said uneasily.

"Aang, these are just plants," Sokka said as he continued to cut vines. "Do you want me to say please and thank you as I swing my machete back and forth?"

"Maybe you should listen to Aang," Katara said, entering the argument. "Something about this place feels… _alive_."

"I'm sure that there are lots of things that are alive here," Sokka said in a patronizing voice, "and if we don't wanna get eaten by them, we need to find Appa as soon as possible."

And they went through after Sokka had created a sizable hole.

OA

As Appa continued to wander, Ellie grew tired and moved to the saddle where she lay on the bison's back. The whole swamp seemed to emit soothing vibes that lulled the Avatar to sleep. Ellie felt them stop and lifted her head enough to see a fallen tree trunk blocking the bison's way. Unwilling to fly over it, the fluffy creature slid down onto his stomach with a plop.

Momo looked around them before pulling Aang's bison whistle out of a nearby bag. He blew on it hard and Appa grunted in annoyance. Momo blew on the whistle a second time and the sky bison slapped the creature with his tail.

"Ow!" Ellie grumbled as Momo staggered around dizzily. The tail had hit her as well, and she was rubbing her face as it stung slightly in pain.

OA

The three teens continued to wander, looking for Ellie, Momo, and Appa. It was hard to tell time in the thick atmosphere of the swamp, but soon it grew dark and a thick fog shrouded from the ground to ten feet up. Everything went from looking slightly warm green, to looking blue.

"Appa! Momo!" Katara cried. "Ellie? Where are you?"

They were currently standing on a tree that was growing sideways. It rose center, forming a sort of bridge over some deeper waters.

"There's no way they can hear us," Sokka told her in annoyance. "And no way we can see them. We'll have to make camp for the night."

A swarm of bugs flew in front of his face and he swiped at them pointlessly with his machete. The water below bubbled and a puff of gas rose into the air with a hiss.

"What was that?" Katara asked in concern.

"Nothing," Sokka said. "Just swamp gas."

The three made faces as the stinky gas floated across their faces. Then, they all jumped and clutched each other at the sound of a scream. Sokka looked to see a pudgy white bird sitting on a branch up above.

"I think we should build a fire," he said, his eyes darting back and forth.

He ran to where some tree roots rose out of the ground and began cutting the tops off.

"The longer we're here the more I think you should be doing that," Aang said, reaching out a hand to stop him.

"No, I asked the swamp," Sokka retorted sarcastically. "It said that this was fine. Right swampy?" he grabbed a nearby tree and shook it, saying, " _No problem, Sokka!_ " before cutting its top off.

Aang raised an eyebrow in annoyance.

Sokka paid him no mind, however, and set to work building a fire. The driest spot he found was in an enormous hollow of a giant tree. There, he threw the sticks down and muttered, "What I wouldn't give to have Ellie with us," before cracking to rocks together to produce sparks. After the long and annoying process of starting a fire, the three of them huddled around it.

Katara turned from looking out of the hollow and asked, "Does anyone else have the feeling that we're being watched?"

"Please," Sokka scoffed, his machete following the trail of a fly that was flying around his head. "We're all alone out here."

He swiped at it to no avail, but stopped as a bright white ball of light appeared over the campfire. The three of them scrambled back, squinting. The ball rose up and flew out of the hollow, illuminating hundreds of pair of eyes.

"Except for them," Aang stated, referring to the owners of the eyes.

"Right," Sokka gulped. "Except for them."

And they huddled together again.

OA

After their surroundings grew dark, Ellie hopped off of Appa on another sideways tree. This one bent down in the center and the vines underneath it nearly touched the water. Ellie lit a fire in her palm and looked around for something already dead to set alight. She rustled up a good number of twigs and set them down in the center of the tree, before shooting fire at them.

They crackled merrily. Appa knelt down beside the fire with his paws tucked under his belly. Ellie pulled her blanket out of the saddle, leaned against his side, and threw the blanket over herself. Momo remained on top of Appa's saddle.

As the fire grew dimmer, the sounds of the wildlife grew louder. There were croaks, chirps, squalls, and ribbets. Ellie scrunched her eyes tight, trying to block their sounds out and get some sleep. Beside her, Appa's ear was twitching. Momo himself was darting back and forth up on the saddle, his ears perked, making distressed sounds.

After a good few minutes of that, Appa lifted his head and roared in annoyance.

The swamp fell silent and Momo curled up on Appa's back, while Appa closed his eyes. Ellie smiled, her eyes still shut, and murmured, "Thank you, Appa."

Appa breathed out through his nose, as if saying "You're welcome."

Hours later, after the fire had long since died, Ellie woke slightly as she felt something on her leg. She twitched it slightly and tried to roll over, but something snapped tight on her leg, jolting her completely awake. The firebender looked down to see vines coiled tightly around her left leg. Then, she let out a scream as she was suddenly jerked forward and away from Appa and Momo, who were both still asleep.

As she disappeared from view, the flying lemur glanced around before closing his eyes again.

OA

Meanwhile, the rest of the GAang were sleeping with their backs pressed up to each other. Their fire had died as well and a separated set of vines were wrapped around each of them in different places. They all three let out yells as they were suddenly jerked away from each other.

Sokka shoved his machete into the ground and held tight, trying to keep from being dragged away, but the other two disappeared into the fog. Then, he wrenched his machete out of the ground and used it to free himself. The boy's eyes darted around wildly and he scrambled off the tree as more vines shot out of the gloom.

Katara was standing, wrapped in vines as well. After a second or two of struggling, she used water to slice through the vines and cut herself free. Then, she fended off more with her whip of water before running off down a path of sorts.

After Ellie had long enough to recover, she kicked the vine off her foot with a blast of fire. Another one shot toward her and grabbed her around the waist, and she burnt it as well. More flew out of the trees and she shot a whip of fire at them before they could come too close. Then, she ran into the trees, not knowing where the heck she was headed.

Aang took an entirely different approach, using blasts of air to move the vines enough to run out from under them and darting up onto tree limbs to dodge them. One vine grabbed his ankle in mid jump and pulled him to the ground. He darted away the second it released him slightly, and then hopped away. He stopped as the fog began to clear and a pale light began to light the swamp. Looking around, the airbender saw that he was all alone.

"Guys?" He asked.

OA

After the sun fully rose, Katara reached a spot in the swamp where flowers grew all along the trees.

"Aang? Sokka!" she called, looking around. "Ellie?"

She turned and saw a person standing in the clearing past the flowery trees.

"Hello?" she asked, walking forward. "Hello? Can you help me?"

She walked forward and the fog cleared just enough that she could see the person clearer; it was a woman dressed in bright blue, standing with her back to Katara.

"Mom?" she breathed. She ran forward. "Mom! I can't believe—"

She put a hand on her shoulder, but stopped as the sun shone on the spot and revealed that the woman had just been a block of wood that was shaped roughly like a person. Startled, disappointed, and angry, Katara knelt and began to cry.

OA

"Katara! Aang, Sokka, someone! Where are you?"

Ellie was wandering through the swamp, ducking under hanging vines and climbing over fallen logs. She squeezed through a hole in another large tree and began wading through the water again. The clearing she had come out in was very foggy.

Up ahead, there was a figure.

"Hello?" she asked, drawing closer. "Who's there?"

No response came and Ellie raised her hands in a defensive firebending form in front of her face and chest. As she was only a few feet away, the fog thinned and Ellie could see that the figure was in fact a monkey, standing tall and upright like a human.

He wore an orange robe and had tassels around his neck. His face was brown and money-like. He had a mane of tufty white hair. His eyes were eerily blank.

"I've seen you before," Ellie muttered. "Who are you?"

She still received no response. She heard rustling behind her and turned to glance at the tree behind her. Then, she turned back to discover the monkey had disappeared.

The girl backed away and her eyes glanced around the clearing once again.

"You lied to me," a voice said behind her. Ellie gasped and jumped around to see Zuko standing behind her. "I could have been happy."

"What are you talking about?" the blonde gasped.

"You didn't tell me you were the Avatar," Zuko said, "because you were afraid that the future would change. Who knew? The Dark Avatar _can_ be noble."

"Dark Avatar?" Ellie parroted.

"Or perhaps…" Zuko continued. "Perhaps you were just being selfish because you feared what would happen to you if you were turned over to my father. Because that's all the Dark Avatar can ever be… _selfish_."

"No," Ellie moaned, backing away. Her eyes filled with tears. "Get away from me!"

And she ran out of the clearing, blasting trees out of her way and leaving a trail of fire behind.

OA

As Katara straightened, wiping the tears from her face, she noticed she would hear sobbing. She followed the sound of crying to a spot of earth where she saw Ellie sitting, curled up, and covered in mud.

Katara knelt beside her and put and hand on her shoulder.

"Why are you on the ground?" she asked softly.

"T-tripped," Ellie muttered, wiping her eyes with a sniff.

"Are you okay?" Katara questioned.

Ellie's lip trembled before she collapsed into sobs again, putting her hands up to her face.

"No," she wailed quietly. "I'm a horrible person."

"No, you're not," Katara said in confusion.

"I am," Ellie said. "I g-get angry and…and I l-lash out…and there's always s-something dark inside me, waiting for that m-moment to d-destroy."

Not knowing what else to do, Katara hugged the other girl and said, "You are one of the bravest people I know."

"Really?" Ellie asked, sounding skeptical.

"Yeah," Katara said, standing. She reached out a hand and helped her friend up. "C'mon."

OA

"Aang!" Sokka called. He raised his machete and hacked through a few vines. "Stupid swamp. Dumb, ugly vines…Katara! You think you're so tough, huh?!"

He tried to shove his way past the last few, but they were to strong and he ended up falling flat on his face with his butt sticking into the air. The teen lifted his face out of the water and stood at the sight of a glowing girl floating in midair.

"Hello?" he asked quietly. His voice rang through the silent swamp, "Yue?" he closed his eyes and gripped his head. "This is just a dream. A tick of the light. Swamp gas. I hit my head running away last night…'m going crazy!"

He turned back to look at Yue, who was still floating there.

"You didn't protect me," she said in a ringing, echoing voice.

Sokka rubbed his eyes, and when he reopened them she was gone. Then, he sighed and turned around.

"Aaaah!" he shrieked, falling backwards as he found himself face to face with her again.

The teen blinked, and then glanced around to see that she had disappeared again. As he stood, he pulled his machete back out and held it at the ready.

OA

Aang hopped over a pair of large roots and called, "Katara! Appa!"

As he passed through some vines, he looked up to see a girl standing on an earthy hill. She was dressed in white and had a black bun. The girl was petting a white, winged boar.

"Who are you?" he asked, walking closer.

The girl giggled, hopped to the right off the hill, and the winged boar flew off in the opposite direction.

"Hey!" Aang shouted. "Come back!"

He propelled himself onto the hill with a gust of air and looked down at where the girl should have been, but she was nowhere to be seen. He heard a laugh behind him and turned to see her running off of a high branch and behind a tree. Aang leapt into the air and swung from vine to vine. The girl giggled and ran on the ground behind him. At hearing her voice, he leaned the opposite direction and hopped off the vine, landing where he last saw her.

She ran across a branch above him, giggling again. Aang followed her. Then, she led him to a pathway where Aang was left, looking around. He pulled a sheet of moss to the side and caught a glimpse of a dress.

"Who are you?" he asked.

When he received no answer, he hopped over a few branches and ran through some vines. As the girl turned, Aang realized that it was Katara. Directly behind her was Ellie, who's eyes were still wet. Aang realized too late that they were going to crash, and he thudded into Katara, who let out a shriek and fell into Ellie. The three of them slid down a sloped branch and landed right on top of Sokka.

"What do you guys think you're doing?" he shouted angrily. "I've been looking all over for you!"

He stood, placed his hands on his hips, and Katara rubbed her head with a wince. Then, she shouted, "Well _I've_ been wandering around looking for _you_!"

"I was too," Ellie grumbled, rubbing her arm.

"I was chasing some girl," Aang said. A pocket of air pushed him to his feet.

"What girl?" Katara asked with curiosity.

"I don't know," Aang replied, pulling her to her feet. "I heard laughter and saw some girl in a fancy dress."

"Well there must have been a tea party and we just weren't invited," Sokka said sarcastically.

"You don't know what you're talking about," Ellie mumbled. She sniffed and wiped mud off of her face.

The others looked at her in surprise. It was obvious they had forgotten she was there.

"Did you see someone too?" Aang asked.

Ellie nodded, sniffing again and fighting back tears at the memory of Zuko's accusation.

"Who did you see?" the airbender queried.

"Someone I left behind," she said harshly, looking off to the side as she stood.

"I thought I saw Mom," Katara muttered. Her eyes were directed at the ground.

Instantly Sokka's face slackened in sympathetic surprise.

"Look, we're all just tired, and hungry, and our minds are playing tricks on us," he said. "That's why we all saw things out there."

Sokka turned away from them, his expression hardening.

"I thought I saw Yue," he replied. "But that doesn't prove anything. Look, I think about her all the time. You saw Mom, someone you miss a lot, and Ellie saw someone she left behind and probably thinks about often."

"What about me?" Aang asked, spreading his hands wide. "I didn't know the girl I saw. And all our visions led us right here."

"Okay, so where is here?" Katara wondered. "The middle of the swamp?"

"Yeah," Aang responded slowly. He turned behind him to look at the largest tree he had ever seen. "The center. It's the heart of the swamp! It's been calling us here! I knew it!"

"It's just a tree, it can't call anyone!" Sokka stated. His eyebrows were raised in disbelief. "For the last time, there's nothing after us! And there's nothing magical happening here!"

There was a splash behind them and a giant green creature rose out of the water. It seemed to be made of vines and its face was a wooden mask.

"What did I tell you?" Ellie shouted angrily as the others screamed. "Swamp monster!"

The four of them scattered as the monster swiped with a large green…paw? Its vines grabbed Sokka and threw him down onto the ground. Aang's eyebrows went down and he shot a slice of air at the monster, causing it to shy away from his friend. Now seeing him as a threat, the swamp monster shoved Aang back with its other arm.

Sokka tried hacking off the monster's arm as it swiped at him again, but the vines snaked back up and rejoined the creature's arm. Then, it grabbed him and zoomed way down the channel of water. Katara and Ellie both rode the waves after it; Katara on its left and Ellie on its right. The Water Tribe girl sliced through its arm with water and Ellie sent a blast of fire at its center.

Sokka fell to the ground and Aang flew over to where the others were standing in front of the monster. The smoke cleared and the vines fell down around a large man that standing in the center of the hole Ellie had created.

"Are you the Avatar?" he asked her.

" _An_ Avatar," Aang corrected with his hands in a defensive position.

"There's two of you?" he asked. His eyes glanced between Aang and Ellie. "Follow me."

The man led them up the giant tree. As they neared its trunk, Katara asked, "So who are you, then?"

The man bent a vine out of the way and replied, "I protect the swamp from those who want to hurt it, like this fellow and his big knife."

"See?" Sokka pointed out, putting away his machete and following the others up the steep incline of the tree's roots. "Not a monster. Just a regular guy defending his home. Nothing _mystical_ about it."

"Oh the swamp is a mystical place, all right. It's sacred," the man said, passing Sokka and pointing to a spot between two enormous tree roots. "I reached enlightenment right here under the banyan-grove tree." He sat there and looked up at the four of them. "I heard it calling me, just like you did."

"Sure you did," Sokka said, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "It seems real chatty."

"See this whole swamp is actually just one tree spread out over miles," the swamp man explained to them. "Branches spread and sink, take root, and spread some more. One big, living organism. Just like the entire world."

"I see how this tree is one big thing," Aang said slowly. "But the whole world?"

"Sure," the man replied. "You think you're that different from your friends? Or that rock? Or this tree? If you listen hard enough, you can hear every living thing breathing together. You can feel everything growing. We're all living together, even if most folks don't act like it. We all have the same roots and we are all branches of the same tree."

"But what did our visions mean?" Katara asked.

Ellie looked up from where she had been staring out over the swamp and watched the man.

"In the swamp," he informed them, "we see visions of people we've lost. People we loved. Folks we think are gone. But the swamp tells us they're not. We're still connected to them." As he said this, Ellie remembered her vision of Zuko, but as she shoved that out of her mind, she remembered the almost familiar face of the monkey-man. "Time is an illusion an so is death."

When the man said that last bit, Ellie's eyes widened in realization. What if she had been thinking about her predicament wrong? What if, instead of being in another world, she was in the same world but in a different time period.

 _Time is an illusion_ …

Who was that monkey, then? The only thing Ellie could think of was a spirit. The monkey dude _did_ first appear on the Winter Solstice. Ellie was jerked out of her thoughts as Aang said, "The girl I saw—she's someone I _will_ meet!"

"Sorry to interrupt the lesson," Sokka said. "but we still need to find Appa and Momo."

"I think I know how to find them," Aang said softly, placing a hand on the ground. "Everything is connected…"

The arrow on his hand began to glow and he saw a vision of Appa struggling against a net in between two boats. Then, he jumped up and exclaimed, "We've gotta hurry!"

Aang destroyed the first boat he saw with a jet of water, sending the people in it flying into the water. Then, he spotted his flying bison.

"Appa!" he cried.

He airbent a stream of air, throwing a gangly man into the water and freeing Momo.

"We're under attack!" the dumpy one shouted.

The dumpy one scooped up a giant wave and sent it toward Aang and Katara, who deflected.

"Hey, you guys are waterbenders!" Katara exclaimed.

"You too?" the gangly one asked. "That means we're kin!"

Katara dropped the wave and her nose wrinkled in disgust. Just then, Sokka, Ellie, and the third swampie joined them on the branch.

"Hey Huu!" the gangly one called with a wave. "Where you been?"

"You know," Huu replied. "Scared some folks, swung some vines, the usual."

"Huu?" Sokka asked at the sound of the unusual name.

OA

That night Team Avatar joined the swampies around a fire at their camp. One person was stirring a pot full of boiling water. Another, the gangly man called Due, grabbed a fish and headed over to the fire.

"How do you like possum chicken?" he asked Sokka.

"Tastes just like arctic hen," the boy replied, looking down at the stake full of meat he was holding. "So why were you guys so interested in eating Appa? You have plenty of those things wandering around."

He pointed at the odd cross between an alligator and a catfish.

"You want me to eat old Slim?" Due asked. "He's like a member of the family!"

Due pulled off a fish and tossed it to the catgator, which caught it in its mouth.

"Nice Slim!" Sokka said nervously, tossing a bug at Slim.

The bug bounced off the creature's snout and Slim growled.

Due laughed, "Oh, he don't eat no bugs! That's people food!"

"Where'd you say you was from?" the dumpy one, Tho, asked.

"The South Pole," Katara with a smile.

"Didn't know there was waterbenders there," Tho grunted. "They got a nice swamp there too?"

"No, it's all snow and ice," Katara told him happily.

"Hmm. No wonder you left."

Ellie, remembering a brief flash of falling in frigid waters laughed.

"Well I hope you realize there was nothing going on here," Sokka said to Katara. "Just a bunch of greasy people living in a swamp."

"What about the visions?" Katara asked.

"I told you," Sokka said. "We were hungry—I'm eating a giant bug!"

He held up the bug, who's large red eyes glinted in the firelight, and took a bite out of it. Ellie, Katara, and Aang cringed in disgust.

"But what about when the tree showed me where Appa and Momo were?" Aang questioned.

"That's Avatar stuff," Sokka said with a wave of his hand. "That doesn't count. The only thing I can't figure out is how you made that tornado suck us down."

"I can't do anything like that," Huu replied. "I just bend the water in the vines."

"Huh," Sokka hummed. "Well no accounting for weather. Still, there's absolutely nothing mysterious about the swamp."

Ellie shook her heads as she heard bird scream and remembered the last shot of the episode back home. In her mind, she could picture a tree root lifting up on its own and smacking the bird. Suddenly, in the light of the campfire, the swamp seemed a lot less scary than the night before.

* * *

 **Well, that's it! Hope you enjoyed it! Review if you did! And I'm serious. Please review. Reviews are my motivation to continue posting it. Next up is the Blind Bandit...or at least my rendition of it. Finally, I just posted a new story that's been bothering me for months called Who is Harrison Wells? It's a Flash-Harry Potter crossover so if you are a fan of either, you should hustle over and check it out.**

 **~LittleMissMycroft**


	17. Part 2: Aang Gains a Teacher

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: the Last Airbender**

* * *

 **Chapter Five: Aang Gains a Teacher**

As Appa flew over the rest of the swamp, Aang turned to Ellie.

"You know?" he asked. "I've been wondering…How did you know about the swamp monster?"

Ellie hesitated.

"You're gonna think I'm crazy if I tell you," she retorted.

The other three simply stared at her.

"No, we won't," Aang protested before turning to the others. "Will we?"

"Oh, no!" Katara said.

Sokka grunted and nodded.

"I think I'm from the future," Ellie replied. "I've been here long enough that I'm a bit fuzzy on some of the details, but I remember roughly what'll happen before Sozin's Comet."

The other three gaped at her.

"So you might be a future version of me!" Aang exclaimed.

Ellie smiled at him, but somehow she knew that could not be true.

OA

Ellie finished her waterskin pouch just before they arrived at Gaoling and filled it with water. Even though they were supposed to be searching for an earthbending teacher for Aang, they all treated it as a shopping trip. Aang bought himself a conical hat (which Ellie still thought looked stupid on him). Katara bought herself and Ellie a good number of hair ribbons. Sokka was currently looking at a green Earth Kingdom bag that was sitting on a pedestal.

"It's pricey," he said pensively, "but I really do like it."

"Then you should get it," Katara replied. "You deserve something nice."

"I do, don't I?" Sokka asked, perking up. Then, he slumped again. "But no…I's too expensive!"

"All right, then. Don't," Katara said, walking away. Aang, who had been sitting on the floor in boredom hopped up and followed her.

Ellie slunk away just as Sokka gave the bag a satisfied smile, rubbing his hands together and saying, "You know what? I'm gonna get it."

The other three waited down the street once they realized Sokka wasn't with them. From behind them, a man walked up and showed them a flyer.

"Hey, you kids like earthbending?" he asked them. "You like.. throwing rocks? Then check out Master Yu's Earthbending Academy!"

He handed Aang the flyer and walked off. Aang, Ellie, and Katara looked down at it. Aang turned it over.

"Look!" he cried. "There's a coupon on the back! The first lesson is free."

"Can I go with you?" Ellie asked. "Please?"

"You haven't even finished learning air yet!" Aang protested. "Not to mention water."

"Yeah, but I've got a good grasp on them!"

"I don't know," Katara said slowly. "The first lesson _is_ free. And who knows? This Master Yu may be just the person you're looking for."

Ellie beamed at her.

OA

The two Avatars stood inside Master Yu's Earthbending Academy. Surrounding them were dozens of eight-year-olds with hardened expressions. Ellie looked about her, confused on what she was supposed to be doing. Aang stuck a finger in his ear and sniffed it. Then, he glanced around and straightened his back.

"Take your stances!" Master Yu called.

All of the eight-year-olds shifted into earthbending stances. Not knowing what else to do, Ellie took on a defensive firebending stance (airbending didn't really have a defensive stance). Aang, however, did nothing.

"Now, strike as if punching through your opponent's head!" Yu shouted with a demonstrative punch.

The pupils across from them lifted their rocks and both Aang's and Ellie's eyes widened. Ellie only had enough time before her rock hit her to realize Aang had been blasted into the wall. Then, she lashed out with her right fist. The rock exploded, but Ellie did not notice as a blast of fire shot out of her fist.

OA

"What happened?" Katara asked, rushing forward as Ellie was thrown bodily from the Academy, landing splayed out on her stomach.

"I'm the Avatar, you idiot!" Ellie shouted to the closed door, kicking it for good measure. "Why on earth do you think a member of the _Fire Nation_ would want into your stupid academy!?"

The door opened and Ellie raised her hands again, ready to fire, but she found herself face to face with a very angry Aang.

"What is wrong with you?!" Aang exclaimed. "Do you _have_ to get kicked out of every single place you go to?"

"I do not get kicked out at _every_ place!" Aang raised an eyebrow. "That guy didn't even instruct us on what to do when we had a boulder shooting straight at us! Do you think I would have stopped the boulder with sunshine and rainbows?!"

"You could have at least dodged it!"

"I didn't have enough time to think about dodging it!"

"Guys," Katara said, shoving between the two of them. "I have no idea what happened, but obviously we need to find someone else to teach you earthbending."

"Obviously," Ellie muttered.

"Only because _she_ got kicked out," Aang mumbled.

"That's the spirit!" Sokka said, putting his arms around the two of them.

Just then, two older boys walked out of the academy.

"I think the Boulder's going to win back the belt at Earth Rumble VI," one of them said.

"He's going to have to fight his way through the best earthbenders in the world to get a shot at the champ," the other said.

"Excuse me," Aang interrupted, running up to them. "But where is this tournament, exactly?"

"It's on the island of Noneya," the first one replied. "Noneya business!"

And the two walked away, laughing.

"I gotta remember that one!" Sokka exclaimed with a laugh, not noticing Aang's hurt expression.

"Let me handle this," Katara told him sympathetically.

Then she ran off with a shout of, "Hey strong guys! Wait up!"

A few minutes later, she returned and exclaimed, "You ready to find an earthbending teacher? Because we're going to Earth Rumble VI!"

OA

They took enough time for Ellie to change out of the infernal earthbending uniform, and they reached the caves where the tournament was held by nightfall. They entered the hall it was situated. There were stands on either side of an earthen, raised rectangle—the fighting arena.

They walked into an empty row of seats, and Aang exclaimed, "Hey, front row seats! I wonder why no one else is sitting here."

The four of them sat. A rock slammed into the seats to their left, missing Ellie's head by mere inches.

"I guess that's why," Sokka said.

In the center of the ring, the host was raising a platform of earth. He brought the platform back down to the same level as the arena, raised his left arm, and shouted, "Welcome to Earth Rumble VI! I am your host, Xin Fu!"

Katara sighed and looked back to the doorway they had entered in.

"This is just going to be a bunch of guys chucking rocks at each other, isn't it?" she asked.

"That's what I paid for," Sokka stated happily.

"The rules are simple," Xin Fu was explaining. "Just knock the other guy out of the ring, and you win!" He leapt up to a podium above the ring. A bell rang. "Round one: The Boulder versus The Big Bad Hippo!"

The Boulder waved to the crowd and the Hippo roared.

"Listen up, Hippo," the Boulder said. "You may be big, but you ain't bad!"

"Hippo…mad!" the Hippo shouted unintelligibly

He stomped, causing a rumble to echo through the stadium. Momo ducked under the flap of Sokka's bag. The Boulder fired three rocks. They crashed into the huge man, but he didn't move. Instead, he caught it in his mouth and crunched it with four molar-like teeth. The Hippo then jumped up and down, causing the surface of the arena to tilt. That caused the Boulder to lose his balance.

"Unbelievable, ladies and gentlemen!" Xin Fu shouted. "The Hippo is rocking the boat!"

The Boulder stumbled to the edge of the arena, but used a ledge of earth to keep from falling. He grabbed the ledge and threw it at his opponent, hitting him on the back. As the Hippo turned around in surprise, the Boulder raised a chunk of earth underneath the Hippo and threw his opponent out of the ring.

"The Boulder wins!" Xin Fu shouted and the crowd roared with excitement.

"How about the Boulder?" Katara asked. "He's got some good moves."

Aang shrugged. "I don't know," he said. "Bumi said that to learn earthbending, I'll have to listen to the earth. He's just listening to his big muscles. What do you think, Sokka?"

Sokka not paying attention to their conversation at all, was cheering wildly for the Boulder.

"What about you, Ellie?" Aang asked after watching Sokka for a second.

"He's not the one," she replied firmly.

"Next match," Xin Fu called, causing the stands to fall silent, "The Boulder versus Fire Nation Man!"

Fire Nation Man walked onto the ring off of a bridge of earth, holding his red flag high. He knelt and began to sing the Fire Nation national anthem. Ellie giggled and Sokka booed, throwing rocks down.

"Go back to the Fire Nation!" the Water Tribe boy shouted.

While Fire Nation Man was distracted, the Boulder slid the ground underneath him down, causing him to sink up to his chest. Fire Nation Man turned to see the Boulder running toward him.

"No," Fire Nation Man pleaded, his eyes wide. "No, please!"

The Boulder jumped up and twisted in the air, landing on his knees, and causing Fire Nation Man to fly out of the ring and land on the boulder that had landed beside Ellie. The Boulder then stood and raised both arms as the crowd roared again.

"Yeah! Woo!" Sokka exclaimed, shoving Ellie aside and looking at the man. "The Boulder knows how to put the hurt in the dirt!"

Three more matches passed and the Boulder won each one. Then, once the wreckage of the third match was cleared by a pair of badgermoles, Xin Fu announced, "Now the moment you've all been waiting for. The Boulder versus your champion…the Blind Bandit!"

The Blind Bandit was a tiny girl with black hair that obscured most of her face. She held a dark green belt above her head. Then, she handed the belt and a cloak to a pair of assistants and turned to face the Boulder.

"She can't really be blind," Katara wondered. "Can she?"

"I think she is," Aang murmured.

"I think she is goin' down!" Sokka interrupted, standing up and waving his harm emphatically.

Ellie grabbed him by the shoulder and forced him back onto his seat so she could watch the match.

"The Boulder feels conflicted about fighting a young blind girl," the Boulder said condescendingly.

"Sounds to me like you're scared, Boulder!" the girl taunted.

The Boulder looked stunned, before he said angrily, "The Boulder is over his conflicted feelings, and now he's ready to bury you in a rock-a-lanche!"

"Whenever you're ready, The Pebble!" the Blind Bandit replied. She spread her hands and cackled.

Aang's eyes widened in recognition. The Blind Bandit was the girl from his vision.

"It's on!" the Boulder shouted.

The Boulder let out a yell and took a step forward. Then, everything happened so fast that Ellie had trouble keeping up. The Blind Bandit dug her toe into the arena and by the time the Boulder's foot hit the ground, it slid on her trail of dirt and the Boulder was forced into the splits. As he let out a yell of pain, the Blind Bandit made a slicing motion with her hand and earth rose out of the ring, knocking the Boulder into the opposite wall.

Then, the Blind Bandit's face split into a smug grin and she raised a hand in triumph.

All four children's reactions were different; Sokka cried out in disappointment, Aang smiled in happy surprise, Katara looked shocked, and Ellie crossed her arms with a smirk.

"How did she do that?" Katara asked.

"She waited," Aang told her. "And listened."

"To make things little more interesting," Xin Fu then called. "I'm offering this sack of gold to anyone who manages to defeat the Blind Bandit." No one moved and a hush fell over the stands. "What? No one dares to face her?"

"I will!" Aang shouted, entering the ring.

"Go Aang!" Sokka called. "Avenge the Boulder!"

"Do people really want to see two little girls fighting out here?" the Blind Bandit taunted.

The audience oohed. Aang raised his hands in surrender and said, "I don't want to fight you. I just want to talk to you."

"Boo!" Sokka bellowed. "No talking!"

Katara smacked her brother, who clutched his face in pain.

"Don't boo at him!" the girl scolded.

Aang took a step forward and the Blind Bandit's face split into a grin. She shot a jab of earth into Aang's foot. The airbender shot into the air and hovered for a second. Then, he landed lightly on his feet.

"Somebody's a little light on his feet!" the Bandit said. "What's your fighting name the Fancy Dancer?"

Aang grinned sheepishly. The girl launched another pillar, lifting him up. He hovered in the air longer this time, and the girl cocked her head back and forth.

"Where'd you go?" she asked, almost to herself.

"Please, wait!" Aang exclaimed, landing behind him.

"There you are!" the Blind Bandit proclaimed, turning her head and launching a rock at him.

Aang deflected it with airbending. The rock flew off the ring in one direction, and the blind girl flew in the other. Everyone looked shocked for a moment, but the crowd began cheering after they recovered. The Blind Bandit walked to the base of the stadium, huffing in anger. Aang ran to the top of the stairs, paused, and shouted, "Please listen! I need an earthbending teacher, and I think it's supposed to be you!"

"Whoever you are, just leave me alone!" the girl shouted. She split the earth of the ring apart, forming a tunnel, stepped into it, and closed it behind her.

"Wait!" Aang cried, running forward and placing a hand on the wall she had disappeared through.

Sokka grabbed the belt and the gold and wrapped an arm around Aang.

"Way to go, champ!" he said happily.

Aang looked down at the ground sadly.

"Don't worry," Ellie said to Aang as they left the stadium. "I know where to find her."

OA

"I'm telling you," the Boulder said to Xin Fu after the match. "The Boulder was standing right there. I saw the kid strike, but there was no earthbending. Nothing made contact. The Blind Bandit just fell out of the ring. She must've took a dive and split the money with the kid."

Xin Fu growled in aggravation. He slammed the wall and then cried out in pain as rocks fell on his foot.

"Nobody cheats Xin Fu," he muttered darkly.

OA

Appa flew over a large country estate. Within the estate's walls, there were many gardens and fountains twinkled merrily in the sunlight. As Aang steered Appa to fly across the front gate, he pointed to a crest above the doors.

"That's the boar from my vision," he told the others.

Aang propelled himself over the courtyard wall with airbending and Ellie did the same. Sokka slid over the wall and landed on his backside, but Aang and Ellie caught Katara before setting her on her feet. There was a rumble and the ground beneath them jerked. With a yell, Ellie found herself falling toward the ground. She used air to soften her fall and landed gently on her butt.

She looked around.

Aang had landed on his back on top of a bush, as well as Katara. Sokka had landed on his head on the ground in front of Katara, and standing in front of Aang was the Blind Bandit Ellie almost didn't recognize her, for she wore a long white gown. Her hair was tied up and only two strands of hair were loose, which fell beside her ears. This left her face unobscured and her pale eyes stared unseeingly ahead of her.

"What are you doing here, Twinkletoes?" the girl asked Aang.

"How did you know it was me?" Aang asked, levitating himself up into a standing position.

"Don't answer to Twinkletoes!" Sokka exclaimed. "It's not manly!"

"You're the one who's bag matches his belt," Katara replied with a smirk.

"How did you find me?" the blind girl asked.

"Well," Aang said. "A crazy king told me to find an earthbender who listens to the earth. And then I had a vision in a magic swamp, and—"

The girl raised a black eyebrow in disbelief and Katara interrupted, "And what he's trying to say is that he's the Avatar, and if he doesn't master earthbending soon, he won't be able to defeat the Fire Lord."

"Not my problem," the Blind Bandit said, walking away. "Now get out of here before I call the guards."

The girl paused, her face angled towards the ground as Sokka said, "look, we all have to do our part to win this war, and yours is to teach Aang earthbending."

The pale girl raised her face and cried pitifully, "Guards! Guards, help!"

The gang scattered as two guards ran up.

"Toph, what happened?" one asked.

"I…I thought I heard someone," Toph replied, sounding perfectly innocent and scared. "I got scared."

"You know your father doesn't want you wandering the grounds without supervision, Toph," the guard chastised, leading her away.

Aang peered over the wall of the courtyard. He smiled and tapped his fingers before climbing down and rejoining the others.

OA

That evening, Team Avatar sat around the table in Toph's home, eating dinner.

"Blow on it," her father instructed one of the servants. "It's too hot for her."

"Allow me," Aang said.

With a flick of his wrist, a mini tornado blew across the table and cooled Toph's drink. Everyone clapped.

"Avatar Aang," Toph's mother said. "It is an honor to have you in our home."

"In your opinion," the woman's husband started, "how much longer do you think the war will last?"

"I'd like to defeat the Fire Lord by the end of summer," Aang replied slyly. "But I can't do that without an earthbending teacher first."

Toph's father chuckled.

"Well, Master Yu is the finest teacher in the land," Ellie looked over to where Yu was sitting, eating daintily. "He's been teaching Toph since she was little."

"Really?" Aang questioned. "Then she must be pretty good! Probably good enough to teach someone—ow!"

He jumped in his seat, pulling one leg up to where his knee was visible over the table. Aang's face screwed up in anger and he glared at Toph, who continued to eat innocently.

Her father looked slightly confused, but continued in saying, "Sadly no. Because of her blindness, I don't think she will ever become a true earthbender."

The four guests turned and looked at each other in disbelief.

"Oh, I'm sure she's better than you think she is—" and the boy's face fell suddenly into his bowl of soup.

Everyone stopped and looked at him. He rubbed his face in exasperation. Then, his eyes narrowed mischievously and he sneezed, causing everything on the table to slam away from him. Food landed on people and a few bowls even slapped against the wall opposite.

Toph stood and slammed her hands against the table.

"What's your problem?!" she shrieked.

Aang copied her, exclaiming, "What's _your_ problem?!"

"Shall we move to the living room for desert?"

The four were shown to a guest room after dinner. The two girls had a room together and the two boys shared a room as well. Before they got ready to spend the night there, all four met together in Aang and Sokka's room. Appa was outside the window receiving rubs from Aang.

"Good night, buddy," Aang said with a smile.

Toph enter the room, leaning against the wide doorpost. Aang turned slightly, spotted her, and moved into a defensive position.

"Relax," Toph said smoothly. "Look, I'm sorry about dinner. Let's call a truce, okay?"

Aang relaxed and Toph led him out into the yard. They crossed a bridge, Toph walking on the bridge's low wall with her arms spread out. Just passed the bridge, they paused, Toph explaining to Aang, "Even though I was born blind, I've never had a problem seeing. I see with earthbending. It's kind of like seeing with my feet. I feel the vibrations in the Earth, and I can see where everything is. You, that tree…even those ants."

Aang looked around, trying to spot the ants, but failed. In the end, he looked back to Toph, saying, "That's amazing."

"My parents don't understand," Toph sighed. "They're always treated me like I was helpless."

"Is that why you became the Blind Bandit?"

"Yeah," she replied quietly.

"Then why stay here where you're not happy?" Aang questioned.

"They're my parents. Where else am I supposed to go?"

"You could come with us," Aang replied with a smile.

"Yeah," Toph said wistfully. "You guys get to go wherever you want. No one telling you what to do. That's the life. It's just not _my_ life."

They fell silent, and suddenly she dropped down and put a hand to the ground.

"We're being ambushed!" she told him.

They tried to run, but got cut by the Gopher, who appeared right in front of them. Aang turned and tried to pull Toph the other way, but they ran smack into the Hippo's belly. They were completely surrounded! Metal cages, much like the one Bumi was trapped in, fell around them both.

Xin Fu appeared seconds later and said with a smirk, "I think you kids owe me some money."

OA

"Whoever took Aang and Toph left this," Sokka said, pulling a dagger out of the ground. Attached to it was a scroll. With them were Toph's parents and Master Yu.

Katara took the scroll and read aloud, "'If you want to see your daughter again, bring five hundred gold pieces to the arena.' It's signed Xin Fu and the Boulder."

"I can't believe it," Sokka said seriously, taking the scroll from his sister. "I have the Boulder's autograph!"

Ellie smacked him and he dropped the scroll.

"Master Yu," Toph's father said, turning to the instructor. "I need your help getting my daughter back."

"We're going with you," Katara said.

"Poor Toph," the blind girl's mother said tearfully as she knelt down in between the two spots where the cages had been. "She must be so scared…"

OA

"You think you're so tough!" Toph taunted, waving an arm through the bars in her cage. "Why don't you come up here so I can whack the smile off your face?"

"I'm not smiling," Xin Fu said dryly.

"Toph!"

Toph's ears perked at the sound of her father's voice.

"Here's your money," came the voice of Aang's friend. "Now let them go."

She could hear the sound of rustling and the chink of money. There was a jolted and the floor of her cage opened, letting her fall to the ground. Toph ran to her father, who held her close.

"What about Aang?" Katara asked.

"I think the Fire Lord will pay a hefty price for the Avatar," Xin Fu replied, holding up a wanted poster.

"No!" Ellie exclaimed, darting forward as Master Yu, Toph, and her father left the ring. "I'm the Avatar!"

"Ellie, no!" Aang shouted.

"Prove it," Xin Fu said.

Ellie twisted her wrist and created a ball of air.

"The Avatar is supposed to be an airbender, right?" she asked.

She held the ball of air in one palm and lit a fire in the other.

"But the poster—"

"Is wrong," Ellie interrupted. "Take me instead."

Soon Aang was standing on the ground with Sokka and Katara. Ellie was restrained by The Hippo and Boulder. She had makeshift handcuffs on her wrists and feet. Xin Fu also had her gagged so she wouldn't be able to blast fire out her mouth either.

"Toph!" Aang cried, running to the tunnel where she was being led away by her father. "There's too many of them! We need an earthbender. We need _you!_ "

"My daughter is blind. My daughter is blind, tiny, helpless, and…fragile! She cannot help you!"

"Yes," she said, wrenching her hand out of her father's. "I can."

The four returned to the arena and Yu and Toph's father sat on the stands to watch.

All of the men that compete in the earthbending tournament ran forward. Aang, Katara, and Sokka started forward, but Toph stopped them.

"Wait," she said, whipping her head to the side. "They're mine."

The three kids looked at her in shock.

A metal cage fell, trapping Ellie, and the Hippo threw it to the side. As they continued to run forward, Toph raised her hands with her fingers splayed out, raising a cover of dust. Slowly, she entered the dust with her arms still outstretched.

As she walked forward, she could feel Fire Nation Man clearing the dust that was around him. He turned and saw her. He was startled for a second, but he quickly recovered. The man sent a stream of loose dirt her way, which she easily avoided. Then, she raised the ground behind him, hitting him in the back, and knocking him out of the ring.

Meanwhile, Team Avatar were trying to get Ellie out of the metal cage. Sokka was whamming the front of it, as Aang pulled on the bottom, trying to get it open. While the boys did that, Katara was working on getting the gag untied.

"Hit it harder!" Katara exclaimed, not turning her head.

"I'm trying!" Sokka shouted back.

Through the dust, the Gecko crawled, looking for signs of the others. He paused as a pebble hit his head and he looked over to see Toph. He pulled two round balls of earth out of the ring and hopped up, shooting them at the blind girl.

Toph deflected them and they both landed on the ground behind her. Before the Gecko could reached the ground, Toph brought a pillar up to meet him. He bounced off and landed on another, and then a third, and then he flew out of the ring completely, landing on Fire Nation Man, who had just began to stand up.

The Gopher appeared out of the ground in front of Toph and threw a ball of earth at her. The blind girl caught it and threw it back at him, knocking him out of the ring as well, directly into the Gecko and Fire Nation Man.

Katara finally managed to get the gag off of Ellie and with one last slam, the bottom of the cage popped open. Aang and Sokka helped her out and steadied her as she wobbled. Her ankles and wrists were still bound. She turned to see the Hippo walk out of the dust, swinging a giant ring out earth around his head with a roar.

The Boulder then flew out after him, landing on his bottom and pulling himself to his feet. The two of them turned to see Toph emerge from the dust with her eyebrows narrowed in concentration.

The Boulder growled, making a crushing motion with his hand and the Hippo beat on his chest with his free hand. As the Boulder raised a rock from the ground, Toph's ear twitched at the sound of a yell coming from behind her. She stomped her right foot forward and made a jabbing motion with both her arms. The plate the three of them were standing on rotated, and Headhunter crashed into the Boulder and the Hippo.

She did a few more jabs, and soon the three had piled on top of the others.

"I never knew," Yu said in an awed voice. "Lao, your daughter's amazing!"

Toph lowered her hands quickly and all of the dust immediately disappeared. Xin Fu titled his head from side to side, cracking his neck before moving into a ready stance. Toph turned her head to the side slightly and spat on the ground. The two then began to circle.

Toph's sightless, pale eyes stared straight ahead as her bangs danced to and fro. Xin Fu's eyes were trained on the form of the petite girl and he held his hands ready. Growing impatient, the man made the first move. He shot boulder after boulder after boulder at the twelve-year-old.

Toph created a strong wedge of earth around herself that the boulders bounced off of. Then, she shot the left side of the wedge at the ring master.

Xin Fu jumped to the side, rolled horizontal on the ground, and jabbed his hand into the earth, sending a boulder towards Toph. She turned and it went by so close, he bangs were stirred. Then, as Xin Fu's eyes widened in surprise, Toph sent him careening off the platform and directly into the seats between Xin Fu and Lao.

Sokka fell backwards in a faint, and the other three ran forward to congratulate their new friend.

"She's the greatest earthbender I've ever seen!" Yu finished.

OA

"Dad, I know it's probably hard for you to see me this way," Toph said, facing her parents back home. Team Avatar sat behind her. "But the obedient, helpless little girl you think I am just isn't me. I love fighting. I love being an earthbender! And I'm really, really good at it! I know I've kept my life secret from you, but you were keeping me a secret from the whole world! You did it to protect me, but I'm twelve years old and have never had a real friend." The four children behind her shot each other looks. "So know you know how I really am, I hope it doesn't change the way you feel about me."

"Of course it doesn't change the way I feel about you, Toph," her father replied gently. "In fact, it's made me realize something."

"It has?" Toph asked, lifting her face from the ground in hope.

"Yes," Lao replied, his expression hardening. "I've let you have far too much freedom. From now on, you will be cared for and guarded twenty-four hours a day."

"But Dad!" Toph protested.

"I'm doing this for your own good," Lao said softly. Then, he looked up at the guards. "Please escort the Avatar and his friends out…They are no longer welcome here."

"I'm sorry, Toph," Aang mumbled as he was led out of the room.

"I'm sorry too," Toph replied, her voice sounding choked. "Goodbye Aang."

They were already gone by the time her tears reached the floor.

OA

"Don't worry," Katara said, walking up to where Aang was gazing out over Gaoling. "We'll find you another teacher. There are plenty of other good earthbenders out there."

"Not like her," Aang said sadly.

They turned to face Appa, where Sokka and Ellie were. Ellie was laying down, her head resting on their luggage, and Sokka was sitting up at the other end of the saddle, scrubbing the belt. Katara climbed into the saddle and sat in between them and Aang jumped onto Appa's head, where he grabbed the reigns.

Before they could take off, the sound of panting reached their ears. Aang turned to see Toph running toward them, barefoot and breathing heavily. She had changed out of her pale nightclothes and was now wearing the outfit she had worn as the Blind Bandit. A green bag was thrown hastily over her shoulder.

"Toph!" Aang exclaimed in confusion. "What're you doing here?"

"My dad changed his mind," she panted. "He said I was free to travel the world."

Katara and Ellie glanced at each other before they turned to look down at her with smiles.

"Well we better get outta here," Sokka said. "Before your dad changes his mind again."

"Good idea," Toph agreed.

"You're gonna be a great teacher, Toph," Aang told her encouragingly.

"Speaking of which," Toph said. "I wanna show you something.

"Okay!" Aang said eagerly, hopping down from Appa.

The minute he landed on the ground, he was blasted upward and became tangled upside down in the tree limb above.

"Now we're even," Toph said happily. "Um. I'll take the belt back."

She reached out a hand for it and Sokka sadly took it off and dropped it over the side of the saddle. The belt hit Toph in the head, who fell to the ground with an, "OW!"

Ellie and Katara both smacked Sokka, and Aang fell out of the tree. It looked like things would only get more interesting from there.

* * *

 **We get to see more of Ellie's hotheaded streak-along with her impulsiveness. Luckily, Toph was there to save the day. Up next is The Chase. Hope you all enjoyed! Review if you did!**

 **~LittleMissMycroft**


	18. Part 2: The Chase

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: the Last Airbender**

* * *

 **Chapter Six: The Chase**

The GAang flew all of that night, trying to get away from Gaoling. Then, once they left the city there was only forest for miles and miles with no place to land. The five children slept occasionally on Appa's back, but it became apparent the next morning that Appa was growing tired. They continued flying until the sun was low in the sky that evening before Aang spotted a clearing large enough to land in and brought Appa down to ground.

"Hey Aang!" he said as she slid off Appa and her feet touched the ground. "You picked the perfect spot for a campsite! The grass here is so soft."

"That's not grass," Sokka said in a restricted voice. "Appa's shedding."

"Oh, gross!" Katara exclaimed, picking a foot up and looking at the fur.

"It's not gross!" Aang said. "Just the beauty of spring. You know, rebirth, birds singing, and Appa getting a new coat!"

"Ah," Katara said sarcastically. "The beauty of spring."

Ellie slid out of the saddle with a yawn.

"I don't see what y'all's problem is," she said, stretching. "It's just white fluff."

Just then, Appa sneezed and hair exploded everywhere, raining down on them. Ellie spat a mouthful out of her mouth and brushed fur out of her hair with her fingers.

"Ack! Appa, stop!" Katara said, coughing and waving her arms.

"Come on Katara," Sokka said leaning over. He straightened to reveal a head full of white hair. "It makes a great wig."

"And a great beard!" Aang added, straightening as well and stroking a beard made of fur.

"Well I'm glad that we added another girl to the group," Katara said, dusting off her dress. "Because Ellie isn't that neat herself and you two are _disgusting_."

Ellie gaped in dramatic offense and placed a hand on her heart. Then, Toph walked out from behind the two boys with her hands behind her back, saying, "Does anybody have a razor, 'cause I got some hairy pits!"

She put her hands on her head and showed off two arm-pits full of white hair. The three of them began laughing heartily, Ellie quickly joining in. Aang sneezed himself into Appa's side and fell on his stomach, his back now covered in hair. They laughed harder. Katara giggled politely with her hand over her mouth.

The sun set slowly as most of Team Avatar scurried around, setting up camp. Momo gathered food, Aang and Sokka set up the tents, Katara began fixing food, and Ellie sat in the center of the clearing, airbending sticks toward herself. Then, she stacked them on the ground and set them on fire. With a satisfied smile, certain that the fire would burn for a few hours in the least, she walked over to where Toph was laying back against the rocks, chewing on a piece of grass.

"Hey," she said, sitting beside her and leaning back as well.

"So you're a firebender?" Toph asked after a moment of awkward silence.

"Yeah," Ellie replied. "And an airbender…and a waterbender…and an earthbender…"

"Two Avatars, huh?" Toph asked. "What's up with that?"

Ellie shrugged.

"Hey," she said. "I know just about as much about it as you do."

"Hmm," Toph hummed, looking up at the stars.

They both fell into a comfortable silence. Just then, Katara walked up.

"You two look cozy over here," Katara said pointedly.

"I just started the fire," Ellie groaned. "What more do you want?"

"I was just going to ask if you had told Toph about how we divide up the work," Katara said.

"Katara," Ellie said. "Toph is new here. Why don't you lay off her tonight and we'll figure out some way she can help."

Katara looked at Toph before hesitantly before walking away.

"What was that about?" Toph asked.

"Katara has this thing about being fair," Ellie replied slowly. "She likes everyone to do their fair share of work, so that camp is set up quicker (in theory)."

"So she wants me to help unload all your junk?" Toph asked. Ellie shrugged. "I'm carrying my own weight."

"I'm not saying you have to," Ellie said, putting her hands up defensively. "I'm just saying that if you don't, Katara will harp on at you for ages. Believe me, I know."

And she got up and walked over to the fire to go to sleep. Toph slammed her fists into the ground and raised a tent of earth.

OA

"There's something coming toward us!"

Ellie was jolted awake and sat up, rubbing her eyes. The fire had died and Toph was running towards them.

"What is it?" Aang asked, instantly awake. How did he do that?

"It feels like an avalanche," Toph replied. "But also not like an avalanche."

"Your powers of perception as frightening," Sokka mumbled sleepily. The four of them gathered around the earthbender.

"Should we leave?" Katara asked.

"Better safe than sorry," Aang responded.

The five of them quickly packed up and climbed back onto Appa. As they rose above the trees, Ellie could see some sort of machine billowing plumes of smoke.

"What is that thing?" Katara asked.

All of them were suddenly awake with adrenaline, fearing the unknown.

"Not good," Ellie replied softly.

They flew until the moon was high in the sky and five different tones of yawns sounded around the saddle. When they could no longer see the smoke, Appa landed in a clearing.

Toph was the first off of Appa's back. Before she could move far, Ellie called, "Catch!" and tossed down Katara's sleeping bag.

Toph caught it and set it down.

Then, she said, "See you guys in the morning!"

As Toph disappeared in her tent of earth, Ellie turned to Katara.

"There," Ellie said. "She helped."

And with that she lit a fire and lay down beside it. Katara watched her for a moment in surprise before laying out her sleeping bag.

Then, still determined to make a helper out of Toph, she walked over.

"I know you're new here," Katara said. "But it would be nice if you helped us unload."

"I'm carrying my own weight," Toph repeated.

"That's not the point," Katara said. "Ever since you joined us, you've been selfish and unhelpful."

"Look here, Sugar Queen," Toph said. "I haven't been asking you to unload _my_ stuff. It seems like the four of you have everything covered, and last I checked, Ellie isn't helping that much either!"

"Sugar Queen?!" Katara parroted.

Earth rose up to cover the opening in Toph's tent.

"Did you just slam the door in my face?!" Katara asked incredulously. "How can you be so infuriating?!"

"Do you think we should split them up?" Aang asked.

"I'm just enjoying the show," Ellie replied.

"Same," Sokka said.

Ignoring the two bums, Aang got up anyway and said soothingly, "All right, I think you both need to calm down."

"Both?" Katara asked, turning to him with wild eyes. "I'M COMPLETELY CALM!"

"I see that," Aang said with his hands up in surrender, inching away.

Luckily, Katara decided to slide into her sleeping bag not long after. Unluckily, she did not seem sleepy.

"The stars sure are beautiful tonight," Katara said with a smile. "Too bad you can't see them, Toph!"

Toph grunted and Katara gave a squeal as she was thrown into the air and landed on her brother. Ellie threw an arm over her face as if it would block out the noise.

"How am I supposed to sleep with all this yelling and earth quaking?" he shouted angrily.

The door to Toph's tent sunk into the ground and Toph's head appeared as she stuck her hand on the earth.

"That thing is back!" she called.

Ellie sighed through her arm.

"Well how far away is it?" Sokka asked, pulling his sleeping bag back over his face. "Maybe we can close our eyes, just for a few minutes."

Aang and Katara both turned to look at the trees to their right. Smoke was furling into the sky just behind them.

"I don't think so, Sokka," Aang said in alarm.

"Seriously, what is that thing?" Katara asked, rubbing her eyes.

She and Toph were hanging over the back of the saddle in exhaustion, watching the smoke.

"Azula," Ellie muttered.

"What?" Katara asked, turning to face her.

Sokka, who was laying down with his eyes closed and his mouth open, opened one eye and looked at her as well.

"Azula," Ellie repeated. "The girls from Omashu—one of them is Princess Azula, Zuko's sister. The other two are her friends Mai and Ty Lee."

"How do they keep finding us?" Toph asked.

"It's spring," Ellie replied, gripping a fistful of Appa's fur over the side of the saddle and pulling up. She let the fur drift out of her hand as the others' eyes widened in understanding.

"So they're following the fur trail," Aang said.

Ellie nodded, leaning back and closing her eyes.

"Well this time I'll take us someone where they can't possibly get to in that machine," he said in determination. "Then we'll find a stream and wash Appa off."

This time they landed after an hour or so on the flat top of a high mountain. Appa landed gently and then rolled over, closing his eyes. The five children spilled onto the ground along with Momo, and any luggage they had loose with them. Ellie shoved her blanket into her bag and used it as a pillow, closing her eyes.

Aang didn't move from where he landed, obviously intending on sleeping there, and Toph slept on her bag as well. Sokka inched forward like a worm inside his sleeping bag and said, "Okay forget about setting up camp. I'm finding the softest piece of dirt and going to sleep."

"That's okay," Katara said, laying her head on her own sleeping bag. "Because Toph wasn't going to help anyway."

"Would you two do us all a favor," Ellie grumbled. "And shut up."

"So it's Zuko's sister that's following us?" Aang asked, changing the subject.

"Who's Zuko?" Toph asked.

"Just some angry freak with a ponytail that followed us all over the whole world," Sokka mumbled.

"He doesn't have the ponytail anymore," Ellie muttered softly, her eyes closed.

"Really?" Katara asked.

Ellie nodded. "Mm-hm. Too conspicuous…or something like that."

"That's good," Sokka said. "It looked dumb."

"What's wrong with ponytails, Ponytail?" Katara asked him.

Sokka planted his face in the dirt and his little mini-ponytail was shown off to all.

"This," he said through the dirt, "is a warrior's wolftail."

"Well it certainly tells all the other warriors that you're fun and perky!" Katara said, laying back and closing her eyes.

"Anyway, Zuko's sister couldn't have followed us here, so would everyone just…shush?"

He lay his head back and put his arm over his head. Momo leapt onto his chest, chattering frantically.

"No, Momo, shush," Sokka said sleepily. "Sleepy time."

Momo skittered off of Sokka and continued to chatter.

Sokka looked at him before laying his face in the dirt again and sobbing, "Oh don't tell me…"

"That's impossible," Aang said. "There's no way they could've made it over that terrain."

"I can feel it with my own two feet!" Toph exclaimed.

The four stood and Katara pulled Ellie to her feet.

"Let's get outta here," Katara said.

"Yeah," Aang said slowly.

They all climbed back onto Appa and flew off. No one had to speak their opinion, because they all knew that any sibling of Zuko's would not be friendly. Only Toph didn't agree.

"I think we could have taken them," Toph said as they flew over the last of the mountains and into a forest. "If Ellie was correct, we could have taken them, three on four."

"Uh, Toph," Sokka interrupted. "There's five of us."

"Oh, right," Toph said. "I didn't count you. You know, no bending and all."

"I can still fight!"

"Okay," Toph amended. "Three on four plus Sokka. Either way, we still could have taken them."

"Are you kidding?" Ellie retorted. "Azula shoots blue fire and lightning. Not even the Fire Lord shoots blue fire."

"Yeah," Katara agreed. "The crazy blue fire and shooting daggers were bad enough, but one of them did something that took my bending away. That was scary."

"It was Ty Lee's chi blocking," Ellie explained to her with a frown.

The sky had been growing lighter through their conversation, but just then the sun peeked over the trees.

"Oh, no, we've been up all night," Sokka moaned.

"Sokka, we'll be okay," Aang said calmly.

"Are you sure?" Sokka shot back. "I've never not slept before! What if I fall asleep and something happens? Something ALWAYS happens!"

"Every time we land, those girls are there," Katara said. "So we'll just have to keep flying."

"We can't keep flying forever," Aang replied darkly.

Ellie leaned over the saddle and looked at Appa's eyes, which were drooping in exhaustion.

Up at the front, Aang yawned, "So what's our plan, then?"

Toph slumped down, still laying with her arms hanging out of the saddle.

"Don't know," she muttered. "Too tired to think…"

Katara to Toph's right, Katara and Ellie were leaning against each other with their eyes closed. Katara smiled, "I'm sure we'll think of something after a short nap."

Sokka was once again lying on his back. He smiled as well, relieved.

"Yes," he said. "Sleep.."

Ellie nodded off, but her eyes snapped open as her stomach lurched into her throat and her hair stood on end.

"What's going on?!" Toph shouted.

Ellie looked over to see that the blind girl was clinging to the saddle for dear life, her eyes as wide as Ellie's were. Katara let out a shriek of fear and grabbed onto the saddle as well.

"Appa fell asleep!" Aang shouted.

He somehow made it to the bison's face and was lifting up the creature's giant eyelids.

"Wake up, buddy!" he shouted.

Appa's eye slowly slid closed after Aang dropped it, and then shot open as Appa realized they were falling. Appa jerked up, pulling them away from the ground and slamming into the tops of the pine trees around them. The others swayed to the side, still gripping the saddle, as he tilted on one side. Then, he slammed into the earth leaving a huge trail of stirred dirt in his wake.

"Appa's exhausted," Aang stated as they all slid to the ground, looking just as tired as the sky bison.

Sokka trudged across the ground, dropping and hardly able to hold his sleeping back.

"Okay," he said. "We've put as much distance as possible between us and them. The plan right now is to follow Appa's lead and get some sleep."

He rolled out his sleeping bag with one flick and dropped face forward onto it.

Ellie fell onto the ground with a plop and mumbled, "And then we can wash off the loose fur."

"Of course we could have gotten some sleep earlier," Katara said, still standing. "If Toph hadn't had such issues."

"WHAT?!" Toph screamed, slamming the ground with her fists and sitting up.

"All right, all right, everyone's exhausted," Aang said, trying to defuse the fight. "Let's just get some rest."

"No, I want to hear what Katara has to say," Toph said, getting to her feet and stomping over to the waterbender. "You think I have issues?!"

"I'm just saying," Katara retorted, sounding irritated. "Maybe if you helped out earlier, we could have had our camp set up faster and gotten some sleep. And then _maybe_ we wouldn't even be in this situation!"

"Or maybe," Ellie said with a smile, standing as well, "we could've gotten some sleep earlier when you were being utterly ridiculous and shouting, _Katara_!"

"You're blaming _me_ for this?" Katara exclaimed.

"No, no, she's not blaming you!" Aang protested, stepping in between the three of them.

"Oh, no, I'm blaming you!" Ellie said. "You've been nothing but a pest ever since Toph joined us and I'm getting sick of it. Perhaps Toph should have helped out a bit more, but it's none of your business and probably wouldn't have prevented the situation we're in right now! Maybe I never should have left Zuko and figured out how to bend on my own! At least when he did something wrong, he realized it!"

Everyone stopped and stared at her. Ellie didn't care. She threw her bag over her shoulder and stormed out of the clearing.

"Now look what you did," Katara said in a low voice to Toph.

"I'm outta here," Toph grumped, and she ran to catch up with Ellie.

Once the two were finally out of sight, Katara finally looked remorseful.

"What did I just do?" she asked. "We were all trying to get used to each other and I was so mean to them!"

"Yeah you were pretty much a jerk," Sokka said, taking a sip of water.

"Thanks, Sokka," Katara said sarcastically.

"No problem," Sokka said with a sincere smile, raising his cup at her.

"We need to find them and apologize," Katara said after a moment.

"Okay, but what are we going to do about the tank full of crazy ladies?"

Aang grabbed a handful of fur and watched as it blew away, remembering what Ellie had told them earlier.

"I have a plan," he said.

OA

"What do we do now?" Toph asked after they had walked in angry silence long enough to calm down. She angled her face towards Ellie and stared sightlessly into the trees.

"I don't know," Ellie replied softly. "I didn't really think that one through, did I?"

"Hmph," Toph hummed.

She smiled in agreement, but did not say anything more.

Neither girl had any idea how long they walked. Neither had no idea where they were heading, but neither turned back. They walked in relative silence, only saying something here or there. Then, Toph suddenly stopped and put a hand to the ground.

"What is it?" Ellie asked quietly.

Toph held up a hand to silence her, pivoted on her heel, and sent a fissure of dirt toward a rather large rock in the ground.

There was an "ow!" and the two girls ran onto the rock to reveal a round man laying sprawled on the ground, rubbing his backside.

"That really hurt my tailbone," he said.

Ellie gasped.

"Iroh?" she asked.

OA

A very soaked and shaggy Appa sat on the banks of the river. Floating on the surface of the water were clumps of white fur.

"Ellie was right," Aang said. "Appa's fur was leaving a trail right to us, but now that he's clean…no more trail!"

Katara looked at the bison.

"Are you sure he's okay to fly?" she asked.

"He'll be fine as long as we leave his saddle and all our stuff here," Aang replied. He knelt down and placed a good deal of Appa's fur in his satchel. "I'm going to use Appa's fur to make a fake trail to lead the tank of course."

He took off in his glider and Katara and Sokka brought Appa into the air. As they flew in the opposite direction, Appa had a bit of trouble getting up into the sky and knocked over the tops of a few trees.

OA

"Wads of wet fur," Mai observed. "How delightful."

Azula bent down and picked one of the wads up out of the river.

"Not wads," Ty Lee said. "More like bundles or…bunches?"

"Clumps?" Mai offered in a bored voice.

"Clumps!" Ty Lee exclaimed, throwing herself onto Mai in a hug. "They're clumps!"

Mai pulled away and said, pointing, "The trail goes this way."

Azula turned toward the mountain and noticed how the treetops were smashed.

"The Avatar is trying to give us the slip," she stated. "You two head in that direction and watch out for the bison!" She pointed toward the mountain before turning to the pathway of white fur. "I'll follow this trail."

And the three of them took off in opposite directions on their eelhounds.

OA

The ground beneath Aang shifted slowly from forest to desert. At the sight of a ghost town, the airbender touched down, emptying the last of the fur onto the ground and dropping the satchel on top. He raised his glider, ready to fly away, but hesitated.

Then, he closed his glider and sat at the back of the street, waiting.

Meanwhile, Katara and Sokka were leaning over Appa's side, looking at the expanse of waters that flew by beneath them. As they did so, Sokka commented, "Toph and Ellie couldn't have made it too far."

On the other side of Appa's back, Momo began hissing.

"What is it, Momo?" Sokka asked the lemur, rushing to that side. He jumped at the sight of two eelhounds slithering on the pathway below them. "Oh, no! Katara!"

"How did they find us?" Katara questioned, slapping the reigns.

"Appa, come on!" Sokka exclaimed, looking down at the two Fire Nation girls. "We need to go faster!"

But Appa wasn't going faster. In fact, he was flying straight downwards.

"He's too tired!" Katara shouted.

"Not good, not good!" Sokka moaned.

Appa grunted.

"We just need to make it across that river!" Sokka shouted.

"Come on, Appa, just a little farther!"

Twenty feet or so from the closest bank of the river, Appa was low enough that he began knocking off the tops of trees again. He was also close enough to the ground that he was in firing range for Mai. Sokka discovered this as he narrowly avoided arts to the face.

Seconds later, Appa's paws were grazing the river's surface. He splashed head-forward through the water and slid onto the bank opposite.

"We made it!" Sokka said, standing. "We're safe!"

"You did it, Appa!" Katara exclaimed.

Katara and Sokka hugged each other. Then, Katara gasped as she saw the eelhounds running across the river. She sent a wave toward them, knocking Ty Lee off her eelhounds. Ty Lee flew into the air and landed on the ground beside the Water Tribe girl.

Katara quickly uncapped her pouch and shot a whip of water at the girl, who dodged it. Then, she avoided being punched in the shoulder and ran backwards. She sent a few more disks of water, and Ty Lee dropped to a crouch. As Mai reached land, she shot arrows at katara, but Sokka jumped in front of his sister, deflecting the arrows with his club and throwing his boomerang at the pale girl.

Mai jumped off her eelhound and ran at katara, shooting more arrows, which Sokka once again deflected. Ty Lee bounded toward Sokka with a couple of cartwheels and a jump. Then, she jabbed Sokka's left arm, which fell limp. Sokka swung his club at her with his right arm, but she jabbed that two, causing him to drop his club.

He tried kicking her, but before his foot made contact, he felt a sharp pain in his knee and a numb sensation spread through it as well. Now only standing on one foot, Sokka leaned forward and Ty Lee's knuckles collided with his skull.

She gripped her hand in momentary pain and Sokka straightened, saying, "Good try, but no."

Katara ran toward a tree, ready to whip more water at Mai, but Mai sent out a dart, pinning Katara's wrist to the tree. The girl's eyes widened in surprise and she gasped. The wave she had been rising in the river fell.

Sokka hopped over on his one good leg and fell on his face with his butt in the air. Katara lifted her right arm to try to free her left, but it was soon pinned down as well.

"How you doin'?" Sokka asked.

"Well, you know," Katara replied, her voice slightly higher than normal.

"I thought that when Ty Lee and I finally caught you guys, it would be more exciting," Mai said, her arms crossed. She sighed. "Oh, well. Victory is boring."

Just then there was a growl, a slap, and the two Fire Nation girls flew into the river.

"Thanks Appa," Sokka said as Appa swiped his tail on the ground. "I don't know what we'd do without you."

Appa licked his face and his eyebrows twitched.

Mai and Ty Lee crawled out of the river on the opposite bank and Ty Lee began ringing out her hair. She turned to her friend and asked, "Was it just me, or was that guy kinda cute?"

OA

Aang narrowed his eyes as a figure appeared in the distance, shimmering in the heat waves of the desert. The figure was revealed to be a girl with a wicked smirk, golden eyes, and red armor. As she reached the outskirts of the tiny abandoned village, she slid off her eel.

"All right you've caught up with me," Aang called. "Now who are you and why are you following me?"

"You mean you haven't guessed?" she asked, taking a step forward. "You don't see the family resemblance? Here's a hint." She put a hand over her left eye, deepened her voice, and said, "I must find the Avatar to restore my honor."

Aang blinked. So Ellie _had_ been right, after all. It _was_ Zuko's sister chasing them.

"It's all right," she taunted. "You can laugh. It's _funny_."

"So what now?" Aang asked.

"Now?" Azula repeated. "Now it's over. You are tired and you have no place to go. You can run, but I'll catch you."

"I'm not running," Aang replied, standing and picking up his staff.

The corner of Azula's mouth twitched up.

OA

"Here is your tea," Iroh said, handing Ellie and Toph a cup of tea.

"I don't understand," Toph said. "You two know each other?"

Ellie nodded.

"I traveled with him before I traveled with Aang."

"So _he's_ the angry jerk with the ponytail?" Toph queried, gesturing towards Iroh. Iroh choked on his tea.

"Oh, no!" Ellie laughed. "That's Zuko! This is Zuko's Uncle, Iroh. Iroh, this is Toph."

Iroh bowed his head.

"It is a pleasure to meet you," he said politely with a genuine smile.

Ellie glanced around.

"So has Zuko already left, then?" she asked.

Iroh's eyes widened in a surprise for a moment before he recovered and smiled, saying, "I've already forgotten your powers of seeing the future."

"It's not a power," Ellie corrected. "More like a good memory."

"What are you talking about?" Toph asked in confusion.

Ellie quickly explained about how she thought that she was from the future. And how Aang thought that she might be a future version of him.

"But you don't think you are?" Toph asked.

Ellie shook her head.

"Speaking of the Avatar," Iroh said, entering the conversation once more. "I thought you were traveling with him."

"I was," Ellie said.

" _Was_?"

"Yeah," Ellie said awkwardly. Not that she was talking to the wise Dragon of the West, she felt somewhat ashamed of storming off. "We kinda got mad and left and…I said some things I didn't really mean."

"Why did your nephew leave you?" Toph asked.

"My nephew is going through hard times," Iroh replied. "He doesn't feel like he needs my help. I've been following him, actually. I know he doesn't want me by his side, but if he does get into trouble I'll be there to help."

Ellie and Toph both drained the rest of their tea and stood. They had reached a silent agreement moments before to rejoin with the others.

"Thanks," Toph said, bowing to him.

Ellie did the same.

"You're welcome," Iroh replied with a warm smile. "It is always my pleasure to share tea with others I meet in the woods."

"Not just for the tea," Ellie specified. "For the advice."

She wrapped an arm around Toph and they turned to leave, but Toph stayed put.

"About your nephew," she said to him. "Why don't you tell him you need him too?"

And with that they left Iroh to ponder her words.

OA

"Do you really want to fight me?" Azula asked.

Aang opened his mouth to reply, but was cut off as Zuko rode an ostrich horse out of one of the alleyways. The teen slid to the ground and said, "Yes, I really do."

"Zuko," Aang muttered as the firebender tossed his hat to the side.

"I've been wondering when you would show up, Zuzu," Azula said, turning to him.

Aang snorted.

"Zuzu?" he laughed.

"Back off, Azula!" Zuko shouted, spreading his arms ready to blast. "He's mine."

"I'm not going anywhere," Azula retorted, doing the same.

They stayed like that for a very long minute. Aang clenched his staff in anticipation and Zuko twitched his fingers in impatience. His eyes darted from his sister to the Avatar. Azula's eyes never strayed from her brothers. Zuko glanced at Aang again, and when he glanced back he let out a cry of surprise—Azula was moving to attack.

A blast of blue fire shot towards him and he jumped back, waving it aside with his own red flames. Aang gasped in surprise, before turning and hopping onto his glider, flying in the opposite direction. Azula swiped down, more flames curling from the tips of her fingers. Aang was forced to retract his glider and her spun it in the air as he landed on his back, clearing the flames around him.

He sat up and turned to see the princess running along rooftops beside him. As he stood, she landed on the ground like a cat and tried to swipe his legs out from under him with a bought of fire. He dodged it and whipped around with a stream of air, dissipating both Zuko and Azula's flames.

The three of them then played a game of dodge, jump, and fire. Aang was mostly hopping over the flames that Azula and Zuko both sent his way, but Zuko was actively trying to fight his way past his sister so that he could capture the Avatar. He managed to get close, blocking her aim, doing a flip in midair, and kicking fire at her, which she promptly dodged.

She then sent fire back, aiming up at his face.

Zuko sent a blast of fire at Aang, who hopped up onto the stairs of a building to avoid it, and then ran through a doorway. Azula rushed after him, stopping herself just in time to keep from falling—there was no floor and Aang was hovering on the other side of the building on a ball of air. Her arms flailed and Aang smiled at her with a wave. The princess recovered, just as Zuko whipped past her, falling face first onto the hard floor below.

Aang shouted and leapt onto the mall amount of flooring as Azula shot fire at him. He used air to speed himself up and run past where Azula was standing and out the door. This knocked Azula off the floor, and she landed gracefully beside her brother, who was just beginning to sit up.

Azula blasted her way out of the house and shot at Aang again. He jumped up, landing on the side of the building and then hopped from wall to wall, narrowly avoiding blasts of blue fire. He landed on the roof of the nearest one and Azula sent a slice of fire that broke off the wedge of the building he was standing on. The Avatar grabbed the roof and scrambled to keep up with a groan. She sent another slice, and he fell into the house below, trapped under several planks of wood.

The princess walked through the doorway of the house, setting the walls on fire with an evil grin. Then, as she raised two fingers to shoot lightning at him, a whip over water slapping her wrist before grabbing the plank of wood and freeing Aang. Azula moved, rubbing her wrist, to where the airbender could see a Water Tribe girl standing in the doorway.

"Katara!" he exclaimed happily.

Zuko ran out of the house, into an alley. He made his way out of the alley quickly, but then collided with something hard. He fell back, rubbing his head, and looked up to see the silhouette of a girl. His eyes focused, and at first he didn't recognize her, but then he realized it was Ellie. Her blonde hair was now past her shoulders and whipping about in the breeze.

The boy's mouth dropped open in shock.

"Zuko!" Ellie exclaimed with a smile.

Zuko gaped at her like a fish.

Ellie ran forward and pulled him to his feet.

"What are you doing here?" he asked after he finally found his voice. In the back of his mind, he was still hoping she had come to join him and his uncle again.

"I know what this might look like," Ellie said. "But I assure you I am not a part of this war. I am not working with you, nor against you. I am here for Azula."

OA

Azula turned and Katara ran out of the doorway as the Fire Nation girl sent volleys of fire her way. Aang hopped up and ran out in time to see Sokka hit the girl with his club. The three of them then surrounded her.

The princess turned to run down another alley, but she slid to the ground. Behind her stood Toph, relaxing form her earthbending form.

She smiled, "I thought you guys could use a little help."

Azula hopped up as Zuko and Ellie ran out into the street together. She hopped through a broken doorway into a house that had no roof. She turned to the door, but bounced off of Iroh's belly. Everyone formed an arc around her, trapping her in a corner.

Azula's eyes roamed from Sokka, who stood on one end of the arc, to Aang, who was at the center with his staff raised at the ready, to Ellie who was in between Zuko and Aang (still holding Zuko's hand from when she pulled him to his feet), to Iroh.

"I see you found your lying, traitorous girlfriend, Zuzu," she said, looking at their linked hands.

Ellie and Zuko promptly dropped hands.

"Look at this," Azula continued. "Enemies and traitors working together. I'm done." She lifted her hands into the air. "I'm beat. You've got me. A princess surrenders with honor."

Zuko narrowed his eyes, but then glanced over at Ellie. Ellie's eyes flickered from Zuko, back to Azula. Iroh looked to where Toph was standing beside Ellie, and then his eyes traveled up to look at the Avatar. Azula watched this. She briefly considered shooting a blast of fire at the offensive blonde girl who stood beside her brother, but then had a better idea. At that, she shot a trail of blue flames at her uncle while he was distracted.

Iroh fell to the ground with a grunt and Zuko turned to look at him, letting out a cry of terror. He turned back and every single one of them shot something at her; he and Ellie shot identical streams of fire, Toph sent a volley of rocks, Katara whipped her water out, and Aang sent a strong gust of air. The four elements combined swirled in a ball and then exploded. The smoke cleared, to reveal that Azula had disappeared. With that, Zuko sank to the ground beside Iroh.

Ellie placed a hand on his shoulder and he whipped his head to look around.

"Get away from us!" he shouted.

Ellie's hand slid off of him, as if burned, and she curled it to her chest, backing into the rest of the group.

"Zuko, I can help!" Katara protested.

"LEAVE!" He sent an arc of fire towards them and they all jumped back.

"C'mon," Ellie murmured, and they followed her as she headed out of the ghost village.

* * *

 **And that's the end of the chapter! Zuko, Iroh, and Ellie get to see each other again. Hope you enjoyed it! I figured that Ellie had the right kind of personality to clash terribly with Katara (and Aang, honestly), but have a kinship of laziness with Toph. I haven't really gone into the team's dynamic that much yet, but we do have a glimpse of it here. We're only a few chapters now from one of my favorites (not favorite episode...favorite chapter because it supplies all you lovely followers with more information). Please review your thoughts!**

 **~LittleMissMycroft**


	19. Part 2: Bitter Work

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: the Last Airbender**

* * *

 **Chapter Seven: Hard Work and Bitter Attitudes**

"Today's the day!"

Ellie woke up and rolled over to see Aang bent over Sokka, saying, "Can you believe it? After all that time spent searching for a teacher, I'm finally starting earthbending! And this place, it's perfect! Don't you think, Sokka?"

There was a muffled grumble and Sokka's eyes (which were all there was visible of him) narrowed.

"Oh, you're still sleeping, huh?"

Ellie sat with a yawn, stretching.

"Am I starting earthbending too?" she asked, rubbing her eyes.

"Well…" Aang replied, trailing off uneasily.

"Come on!" Ellie whined. "Why not?"

"Don't you remember what happened the _last_ time you tried to earthbend?" Aang asked.

Ellie slumped, crossing her arms and muttering angrily, "That wasn't my fault."

The ground shook and rumbled as Toph exploded her tent with a fist, saying, "Goood morning earthbending student!"

Aang bowed with one fist pressed into the palm of his other.

"Good morning, Sifu Toph," he said.

"Hey," Katara said, rubbing her eyes and sitting up. "You never called me Sifu Katara!"

"Well, if you think I should…" Aang trailed off.

Sokka sat up suddenly and grumbled at them, before laying back down.

"Sorry Snoozles," Toph said quietly, her voice oozing sarcasm. "We'll do our earthbending as quietly as we can."

She kicked the ground and Sokka was hurtled into the air. He let out a yell, fell onto his back, hopped to his feet (still in his sleeping) grumbling angrily at the two of them, and hopped off resembling a giant angry caterpillar.

"What am I supposed to do while he's earthbending?" Ellie grouched as Toph led Aang away. "He's supposed to be my teacher."

She flamed a dead leaf with her toe.

"I can teach you more waterbending," Katara offered. "Since you can't learn airbending right now, you can just learn waterbending."

So Katara and Ellie found a puddle of water to splash in—well in a manner of speaking. The puddle was actually a pond that had cattails and little rings of earth where it was beginning to dry up. Ellie and Katara waded out into the deepest part of the pond where the water went up to their thighs.

OA

"The key to earthbending," Toph explained, "Is your stance."

The two of them were standing in the middle of a dry, mountainous ravine. In front of them were two boulders.

Toph assumed a steady stance—she bent her knees with her feet pointing forward and held her hands, clenched, in front of her. Aang mimicked her, but his stance was tense and not as strong.

"You've got to be steady and strong," she continued. "Rock is a stubborn element. If you are going to move it," she shoved him with ease, "you've got to be like a rock yourself."

"Like a rock," Aang repeated, rubbing his side. "Got it."

"Good," Toph praised. "Now the actual motion for this one is pretty easy."

She demonstrated, sliding her foot and her fist forward at the same time, shoving the rock into the wall in front of them.

"Okay," Toph said. "You ready to give it a try?"

"I'm ready," Aang said, planting his feet in the ground and pulling his fists toward his body.

He did the motion exactly as Toph had demonstrated, but instead of sending the rock flying, he was blown backwards into Appa. Sokka, who had been sitting in his sleeping bag, watching, laughed, "Rock beats earthbender!"

OA

After Iroh had been wounded, Zuko had taken his uncle to a house on a hill nearby and bandaged the wound the best he could. Luckily, he had experience dealing with burns. He had gone to sleep that night and the next morning he brewed a pot of tea. He sat over his uncle all morning, watching him.

When Iroh's eyes finally slid open, Zuko said, "Uncle. You were unconscious. Azula did this to you. It was a surprise attack."

Iroh sat up with a groan and muttered, "Somehow that is not so surprising."

He pushed himself up with his good arm, grunting slightly. Zuko held his cup of tea out to him.

"I hope I made it the way you like it," the prince said.

Iroh accepted it from him and took a sip. He gagged, but somehow managed to say, "Mmm, good."

He drained the rest of the tea and added, "That was very…bracing."

When Zuko handed him another cupful, he resorted to throwing it out the window over his shoulder while nephew wasn't looking.

"So Uncle," Zuko said, oblivious to all as he poured himself a cup of tea. "I've been thinking. It's only a matter of time before I run into Azula again. I'm going to need to know more advanced moves if I want to stand a chance against her. I know what you're gonna say—she's my sister and I should be trying to get along with her."

"No," Iroh said, setting his cup down. "I think she's crazy and she needs to go down."

Zuko nodded. Iroh stood slowly and with great difficulty.

"It is time to resume your training."

OA

"Maybe there's another way," Aang mused, walking toward the boulder and rubbing the back of his head. "What if I came at the boulder from a different angle?"

"No!" Toph interrupted, grabbing Aang by his shirt and rapping on his head. "That's the problem. You've got to stop thinking like an airbender. There's no different angle, no clever solution, no trickity-trick that's going to move that rock! You've gotta face it head on. And when I say head on, I mean like this!"

She dove head first into the rock, exploding it into pieces. Aang gulped.

OA

Katara and Ellie were dancing around in the pond-or at least, that's what it would look like to any random passersby. They did twirls and jabs and kicks, and fluid movements that looked more like a rain dance that a fighting stance. Katara would summon a whip of water to hit Ellie with, who would deflect it behind her, and then bring it in front of her in a little ball. She froze the ball and rapidly jabbed at it, sending small slices of ice at Katara.

Katara cartwheeled out of the way and then slid, sending a bunch of spikes out of the water. Ellie brought her hands away from her body in a sweeping motion. The ice spikes were melted instantly and spread into hundreds of little water droplets. She swirled the droplets over head with one hand while the other shot a whip at Katara. The Water Tribe girl grabbed the whip and was unprepared as the water overhead fell, soaking her from head to toe.

Ellie laughed. Katara joined her in laughing, bending the water out of her clothes and hair, and placing it back in the pond.

"Good job," Katara praised. "You're a natural-I don't think you need much more training from me. Once you get air down, you should be free to learn earthbending."

"You think so?" Ellie asked, receiving a nod.

OA

"Keep your knees high, Twinkletoes!" Toph shouted.

Aang stumbled around the ravine with a rock on his back. Toph had decided that before he could move a rock, he had to do a series of exercises that proved to her he was ready. She made him do things like dry to dig his hands into solid rock, not jump in surprise when she snuck up on him, whack at pillars of rock she conjured, blindfolded, push her across a line, and stay standing steady on top of two pillars of earth as she whacked them, tossing a weight from hand to hand. By the time she deemed him ready to move on, Katara and Ellie had finished their waterbending for the day.

OA

When Toph had started earthbender boot camp for Aang, Sokka had left to go hunting. At that moment, he was crouching in between two limbs of a tree, looking down at the ground where a small brown creature was sniffing around.

"You're awfully cute," Sokka said. As he spoke, he waved his machete around. "But unfortunately for you, you're made of meat." He watched as it moved from the plant it had been sniffing. "Just a bit closer…"

The teen jumped out of the tree, holding his machete high. But, when he landed on the ground beside the creature, he sank into a crack. He froze. Sokka looked around in bewilderment to see that he only part of him that was above ground was his upper torso. The Water Tribe boy looked down to see the furry creature looking at him in curiosity.

He let out a war cry and raised his machete over his head, but sank down to where he couldn't use his arms. His machete was lying behind, useless. Sokka struggled, but couldn't move an inch. He pointed an angry finger at the little animal and said, "You are one lucky little meat creature."

The small animal spun its tail playfully.

OA

"Lightening is a pure expression of firebending," Iroh was explaining to Zuko. "It is not fueled by anger or rage, the way other firebending is. Some call lightning the cold-blooded fire. It is precise and deadly, like Azula. To perform the technique requires peace of mind."

"I see," Zuko murmured thoughtfully. "That's why we're drinking tea…to calm the mind."

"Good point!" Iroh exclaimed, before correcting himself, "I mean, yes."

Iroh took Zuko outside, where he picked up a stick and drew in the dust, explaining lightning further where he could demonstrate, "There is energy all around us. The energy is both yin and yang. Positive energy, _and_ negative energy. Only a select few firebenders can separate these energies. This creates an imbalance. The energy wants to restore balance, and in the moment the two energies come crashing together, you provide release and guidance, creating lightning."

Iroh held out a hand and Zuko stepped back. Then, Iroh faced away from his nephew and twirled his hands in a circle, two fingers on each hand producing lightning. Then, he directed it toward the sky.

"I'm ready to try it," Zuko said, not missing a beat.

"Remember," Iroh said, rubbing his hurt shoulder. "Once you separate the energy, you do not command it. You are simply its humble guide. Breathe first."

Zuko took a deep breath and closed his eyes. Then, he opened them and repeated the motion Iroh had done, only no energy crackled from his fingertips. When he aimed for the sky, there was an explosion of fire and he was blasted backwards.

OA

"This time we're going to try something a little different," Toph said to Aang. "Instead of moving a rock, you're going to stop one."

Ellie was sitting where Sokka had that morning and was watching. Katara stood near Aang to watch.

"Get in your horse stance," Toph said suddenly.

Aang dropped into his stance, with his legs spread apart, slightly crouched, and his hands balls up in front of his stomach.

"I'm going to roll that boulder down at you." Toph pointed up a cliff to where a boulder was perched on top. "If you have the attitude of an earthbender, you'll stand your stance and stop the rock. Like…this!"

Toph held her palms out flat in front of her, pointing them at where the boulder would roll.

"Sorry, Toph, but are you really sure this is the way to teach Aang earthbending?"

"You're right, Katara," Toph said thoughtfully. "There is a better way to do this."

She grabbed the sash around Aang's waist and covered his eyes with it, tying it at the back of his head.

"This way you'll have to feel the vibrations of the boulder. Thanks Katara!" she said chipperly.

"Yeah, thanks Katara!" Aang said sarcastically.

Katara smiled helplessly.

Aang dropped into his stance again as Toph earthbent herself up onto the cliff. Then, she hit the boulder, causing it to roll down. Hearing it move, Aang clenched his teeth nervously. Katara clutched her face anxiously, and Ellie leaned forward, wondering what would happen if it smushed him (even though she knew it wouldn't).

Then, just as it reached him, he jumped out of the way, pulling the blindfold off.

"I don't know what to say," Aang muttered as Toph stomped up to him.

"There's nothing _to_ say!" Toph shouted. "You blew it! You had a perfect stance and perfect form, but when it came down to it, you just didn't have the guts!"

She prodded him harshly in the chest and he slid to the ground.

"I know," he said. "I'm sorry."

"Well sorry isn't gonna cut it!" Toph said, leaning down to where their faces were close enough she could feel his breath. Her sightless eyes bored into him. "If you aren't tough enough to stop the rock, then you could have at least given it the pleasure of crushing you instead of jumping out of the way like a jelly-boned wimp! Now, do you have what it takes to face that rock like an earthbender?!"

"No," Aang mumbled, looking down at the ground. "I don't think I do."

"Aang," Katara said soothingly, stepping forward. "It's no big deal. You'll take a break and try again later, when you're ready. Besides, you still have a lot of waterbending to work on! Okay?"

"Yeah," Aang said, turning away from Toph, whose arms were folded against her chest, and looking at the waterbender. "That sounds good."

He stood to follow her to the pond.

"Yeah, whatever," Toph called at their retreating backs. "Go splash around until you feel better."

OA

"I don't get it!" Zuko shouted. "Every time I try, it just keeps exploding in my face…like everything always does."

The last bit he said bitterly.

"I was afraid this might happen," Iroh stated, standing up and walking over. "You will not be able to master lightning until you master the turmoil within yourself."

"What turmoil?!" Zuko shouted.

"Zuko, you must let go of your feelings of shame."

"But I don't feel ashamed," Zuko protested in a confused voice. "I'm as proud as ever!"

"Pride is not the opposite of shame, but it's source. Only true humility is the antidote to shame."

"Well," Zuko said softly. "My life has been nothing _but_ humbling lately."

"I have another idea," Iroh then told him. "I will teach you a firebending move that even Azula doesn't know, because I made it up myself!"

OA

"Okay karma person or thing, whoever's in charge of this stuff," Sokka called as he felt something tug on his wolftail (judging by the squeaks it was the little brown creature he was now having to deal with), "If I can just get out of this situation alive, I will give up meat and sarcasm. Okay?" The cub yanked hard and all of his hair popped out of his band and went wild. At this, he cried, "Ow! That's all I got. It's pretty much my whole identity. Sokka, the meat and sarcasm guy. But I'm willing to be Sokka, the veggies and straight talk fellow. Deal?"

Sokka looked straight ahead to see Aang run out from behind a large boulder.

"Aang!" Sokka shouted. "Thank goodness! Have you got any meat?"

Aang ran up to him.

"Sokka!" Aang exclaimed in surprise. "Are you okay?"

He grabbed Sokka's fingers and tried to pull him out of the ground.

"Aagh!" Sokka grunted. "Stop, stop! You're going to pull my fingers off and I don't think the rest of me is coming!"

Aang stopped pulling on his fingers and straightened, putting a hand up to his chin thoughtfully.

"Hmm..I bet I can airbend you out of here," he mused.

He blew a strong gust of wind down at Sokka. The air blew Sokka's wild hair straight up into a mowhawk. His club fell and hit him on the head, making his hair go wild again.

"Seriously, Aang," Sokka said. "I know you're new at it, but I could use a little earthbending right now. How about it?"

Aang slumped and looked down at the dry dust.

"I can't…" he mumbled. "I can't do it."

"Well, if you can't earthbend me out of here, go get Toph."

"I can't do that, either."

"What? Why not?"

"It would just be really uncomfortable."

"Uncomfortable?" Sokka asked sarcastically. "Well, I wouldn't want you to feel uncomfortable."

"Thanks Sokka," Aang said with a smile. Then he sank to the ground and continued, "This whole earthbending thing really has me confused. There's so much pressure. Everyone expects me to get it right away. It puts me in an awkward position."

"Awkward position," Sokka hummed dryly. "I think I know the feeling."

"If I try," Aang went on, "I fail. If I don't try, I'm never gonna get it. I feel like I'm caught between a rock and a hard place."

"Hmmm," Sokka muttered. "How about that."

The little brown creature waddled up to Aang and its tail spun in a circle.

"Aang," Sokka said, waving a hand toward the creature with difficulty, "This is my friend, Foo Foo Cuddlypoops. Foo Foo Cuddlypoops, Aang."

"Aww!" Aang cooed, picking up the little creature. "What a cute little name for a baby saber-tooth mooselion cub!"

"Really?" Sokka asked in surprise. "He doesn't look like a saber-tooth mooselion."

"Well, it's hard to tell before their giant teeth and horns grow in," Aang replied. "What are you doing out here little guy? Did you lose your mama?"

There was a roar and Aang leapt to his feet with a shout of surprise. He turned to see an enormous, fully-grown saber-tooth mooselion marching through the bushes just past the giant boulder.

"Hey there, we found your cub!" He set the cub on the ground and watched as it scampered behind its mother's legs. "See? We have no problem with you! We're friendly!"

The mother, although reunited with her cub, showed no sign of retreating. In fact, she had begun to growl.

"This is really bad!" Sokka moaned, turning to Aang. "You've gotta get me outta here!"

Aang sighed, dug his feet into the ground, and made jabbing motions with his arms. Nothing happened.

"Oh, no!" Aang exclaimed.

The moose-lion had begun to charge toward Sokka. Aang jumped up onto a pillar of earth and yelled, "Wooh, look at me!"

At seeing that the mooselion was still charging Sokka, Aang hopped down to help his friend.

"Don't leave me again," Sokka pleaded.

"I won't," Aang replied in determination, shifting into a steady stance.

At the last second, he blew the creature back into the bushes with the strongest gust of air he could summon. Shaken, the saber-tooth moose-lion trotted away. The two boys then stopped and look about in surprise at the sound of clapping. They turned to see Toph and Ellie sitting only a few feet away.

"What are you two doing here?" Sokka asked.

"Just enjoying the show," Toph replied.

"What?" Aang asked. "You were there the whole time?"

"Pretty much," Toph said nonchalantly.

"Why didn't you do something? Sokka was in trouble!"

"I'm a firebender," Ellie offered. "This place is too dry—I would have caught the whole ravine on fire."

"What about you, Toph?" Sokka asked curiously.

"Guess it just didn't occur to me," Toph said.

She threw a nut down onto the ground and swung Aang's staff towards it from behind her back. The airbender grabbed it before it could reach the ground and growled, "Enough! I want my staff back."

"Do it now!" Toph shouted.

"What?" Aang asked.

"Earthbend, Twinkletoes," Toph replied with a smirk. "You just stood your ground against a crazy beast. And even more impressive, you stood your ground against me. You've got stuff."

"But—"

"Do it!"

Aang stomped the ground with his feet and made a punching motion toward the giant boulder. It went flying into the canyon wall behind them.

"You did it!" Toph congratulated him. "You're an earthbender!"

Ellie smiled. Maybe this meant that she would get to learn more airbending again.

* * *

 **This episode was never really one of my favorites, and since Ellie was hardly in it, it was certainly not my favorite chapter. However, the Library's up next! *And the crowd exhales loudly through their mouths* That one definitely _is_ one of my favorites, up there with Ba Sing Se and a few others.**

 **Please review. Tell me what you thought!**

 **~LittleMissMycroft**


	20. Part 2: The Library

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: the Last Airbender**

* * *

 **Chapter Eight: The Library**

Sure enough, once Aang had gotten earthbending down, he returned to giving lessons to Ellie. At this point, she had almost completely mastered waterbending and was better at airbending than Aang was at earthbending (which he was already pretty good).

So, they decided to take mini-vacations.

This was how they moved from the dry ravine to a desert-like valley, scarce of shrubs and full of holes. All around the valley were mountains and there were large clouds over head. The only living thing within a hundred feet of the five children and Appa were birds that flew overhead, making their lonely calls known.

"What's out here?" Sokka asked.

"A lot, actually!" Toph exclaimed eagerly. She bent down and felt the earth. "There's hundreds of little—"

"Shhh!" Aang hushed her, turning to face them momentarily. He was sitting on the ground a good few feet in front of the others. "I know you can see underground, but don't ruin the surprise. Just watch."

He turned back to face the empty valley and blew on a little flute. Then, out of one of the holes popped a groundhog, singing along with the note. Aang laughed, played a note higher, and another groundhog popped out and sang that note as well.

"I'm putting an orchestra together!" Aang cried, throwing his hands up in the air.

"An orchestra, huh?" Sokka asked, not impressed. "Well la dee da."

As if in response, three groundhogs popped out of the ground and sang in descending notes. Momo dove into a hole after one of them and came skittering out of another. Aang began playing on his flute again and Momo danced around the area trying to catch one, almost as if he was playing whack-a-mole. Sokka marched up to Aang and plugged the end of his flute, deadening the sound.

Aang's cheeks swelled with air as he tried to play a note, but then looked up at Sokka with large puppy eyes.

"This is great and all," Sokka said. "But don't we have more important things to worry about? We should be making plans."

"We _did_ make plans," Toph said. "Remember? We each get to choose a mini-vacation."

"There's no time for vacations," Sokka said.

"I'm learning the elements as fast as I can," Aang said, becoming serious. "I practice hard every day with Toph and Katara, and I've been helping teach Ellie. I've been training my arrow off!"

Katara walked up next to Aang. Ellie and Toph followed her.

"Yeah what's wrong with having a little fun in our down-time?"

"Even if you do master all of the elements, then what?" Sokka queried. "It's not like we have a map of the Fire Nation." He gestured away from the rising sun, to the west. "Should we just head west until we reach the Fire Lord's house? Knock, knock. Hello, Fire Lord? Anybody home?" He abruptly dropped his arm from where he had been knocking on an imaginary door. "I don't think so. We need some intelligence if we're going to win this war."

Aang played another note on his flute.

"All right," Katara said. "We'll finish our vacations, and then we'll look for Sokka's intelligence."

Aang laughed at the mocking tone she had ended with.

Then, he unrolled his map of the area and said, "Your turn, Katara. Where would you like to go on your mini-vacation?"

Katara pointed to a spot that was a few miles into the Si Wong Desert.

"How about the Misty Palms Oasis?" she asked. "That sounds refreshing."

"Oh, yeah, I've been there," Aang said eagerly. "It's a pristine natural ice spring. And I usually don't use the word 'pristine'. It's one of nature's wonders."

Ellie looked down at the map in curiosity to see a picture of a large looking fountain.

OA

Ellie, Sokka, Aang, and Katara stared at the fountain in disappointment. Instead of a large, impressive fountain, it was just a cluster of huts that surrounded a tiny spot of sublimating ice. Lingering in the area were seedy looking sandbenders.

Aang laughed nervously, "It must've changed ownership since I was here."

They glanced around and Ellie pointed to the nearest hut.

"Well, since we're here," she said, "we might as well get something to drink."

The others looked up just long enough to see a sign fall down. They sighed and walked past the steaming hulk of ice and up to the earthen hut. Ellie practically shoved Aang to moving faster at the sight of one of the sandbenders leering at her. Another one spat at Sokka's feet. Katara, the last one in the line, grabbed her glaring brother and pulled him inside.

A man walked past the group and said to the bartender, "One mango, please."

The bartender used two swords to slice a bowl from a large chunk of ice. He cut down some mangos that hung overhead and diced them up. He chopped up a piece of fruit and poured a jug of milk into the bowl, using the swords to stir. The bartender threw a decorative umbrella into it and shoved it toward the man in the sun hat, who tossed a coin onto the counter.

"I don't see anything wrong with having one of those fruity beverages while we plan our strategy," Sokka said. He ran up to the counter. "Excuse me."

The man from before bumped into Aang and spilled his drink onto the airbender.

"No worries," Aang assured him. "I clean up easy!"

He airbent his clothes dry.

The man gasped, "You're a living relic!"

"Thanks," Aang shrugged. "I try."

"Can we have three more of those?" Ellie asked the bartender. He quickly served them each one and they sidled up to where the man and Aang were talking.

"An Air Nomad, right in front of me," the man said in awe. He then bowed. "Professor Zei, head of anthropology at Ba Sing Se University. Tell me, which of the air temples do you hail from?"

"The Southern Temple."

Professor Zei measured Aang's head with a pair of calipers, and said excitedly, "Oh, splendid! Now tell me—what was the primary agricultural product of your people?"

"Uh," Aang said, looking confused. "Do fruit pies count as an agricultural product?"

"Oh, truly fascinating. That is one for the journal."

He began scribbling in a tiny little notepad as Sokka said, "So Professor, you're obviously a well-traveled guy. Do you have a more current map? Ours seems to be a bit outdated."

"Certainly," Zei replied, pulling a few scrolls out of his bag.

Sokka unrolled it on a table and examined it.

"What, no Fire Nation?" Sokka asked, flipping through the numerous maps of the Earth Kingdom. "Doesn't anyone have a good map of that place?"

Katara bent over it as well as Sokka straightened his back.

"You've made a lot of trips into the desert," she observed, looking at the dotted lines that marked Professor Zei's trips into the desert.

"All in vain, I'm afraid," Zei said sadly. "I've found lost civilizations all over the Earth Kingdom, but I haven't managed to find the crown jewel: Wan Shi Tong's Library."

"You spent years walking through the desert to find some guy's library?" Toph asked skeptically.

"This library is more valuable than gold, little lady," the professor said. "It is said to contain a vast collection of knowledge, and knowledge is priceless."

"Hmm," Toph hummed sarcastically. "Sounds like goods times."

"Oh, it is," Zei replied honestly. "According to legend, it was built by the great Knowledge Spirit, Wan Shi Tong, with the help of his 'foxy' knowledge seekers."

"Oh, so this spirit has attractive assistants, huh?" Sokka asked with interest.

"I think he means they look like actual foxes, Sokka," Ellie said as Katara smacked her brother upside the head.

"You're both right," Professor Zei added. "Handsome little creatures." He took another scroll out of his bag and opened it on the table to reveal an intricate drawing of the library. "Wan Shi Tong and his knowledge seekers collected books from all over the world and put them on display for mankind to read, so that we might be better ourselves."

"If this place has books from all over the world," Sokka mused, "do you think they've got info on the Fire Nation? A map, maybe?"

"I wouldn't know," Professor Zei replied. "But if such a thing exists, it's in Wan Shi Tong's Library."

"Then it's settled," Sokka stated. "Aang, I do believe it's my turn. I'd like to spend my vacation at….the _library!_ "

"Hey!" Ellie protested. "When do _I_ get to pick?"

"You can go next," Katara said, placing a hand on her friend's shoulder.

"And what about me?" Toph asked, waving her arm.

"You have to work here a little longer to qualify for vacation time," Sokka retorted.

Toph folded her arms across her chest with a little _"hmph!_ ".

"Of course there's the matter of finding it," Zei interrupted. "I've made several trips into the Si Wong Desert and almost died each time. I'm afraid that desert's impossible to cross."

Ellie and Sokka shared a look of hilarious incredulity.

"Professor, would you like to see our sky bison?" Sokka asked.

"A sky bison?!" the professor exclaimed. "You actually have one?"

Professor Zei practically shoved the five children out of the bar and into the sunlight. There, they found Appa grunting and growling at a group of sandbenders that were eyeing him and talking excitedly between themselves.

"Sandbenders!" Zei shouted, running forward. "Shoo! Away from the sky bison!"

The sandbenders ran off and sped away in their sandsailers.

"Thanks," Aang said to the professor.

"No problem," the man replied.

Ellie climbed up into the saddle. Sokka and Katara followed her and helped Toph up, who gave herself a boost of earth. Aang and Professor Zei climbed onto Appa's head and after a cry of, "Yip, yip!" they were in the air.

After a few minutes of flying in the blistering sun, Ellie tore the sleeves off of her shirt and tucked them into her bag. Sokka tied his shirt on his head in a headdress that blocked the sun. Then, he pulled out his telescope and scouted the ground below them. Katara and Toph hung across the sides of the saddle in boredom.

Meanwhile, up on Appa's head, Professor Zei was proclaiming, "Ah, if only I could speak this beast's language! Oh the stories he could tell!"

Aang looked up from the picture of the library and across the sandy desert.

"Wow," he said, "shouldn't be too hard to find a place like this out here."

After nearly an hour, they were singing a different tune.

"Ugh!" Toph groaned. "Does this place even exist?"

"Some say it doesn't," Zei supplied with a helpful smile.

Toph's eyes narrowed and she muttered, "Shouldn't you have mentioned that before?"

They were silent for a few minutes other than the whistling of the wind in their ears and the scratching of Professor Zei's pen on his notebook. Then, Toph broke the silence, as she pointed out to the desert, exclaiming, "There it is!"

Sokka and Katara, who were on the other side of the saddle, rushed over to see the library for themselves. Aang turned his head. Ellie, who was sitting right beside Toph, snorted with laughter as the others' faces fell comically when they realized Toph had tricked them.

"That's what it'll sound like when one of you _spots_ it," Toph said, waving a hand in front of her sightless eyes.

"It shouldn't be this hard to spot a giant, ornate building from the air," Katara muttered.

Sokka put his telescope down slightly and said, "Down there, what's that?"

Ellie squinted at where he was pointing and could just make out a crooked tower that had sand heaped against one side. Aang took them down and Appa landed beside the tower, stirring up a puff of dust.

"Forget it," Katara said, holding the picture of the library. She looked from it to the tower and back again. "It's obviously not what we're looking for."

The was a sparkle of light over the nearest hill and they turned to see a fox holding a scroll in its mouth and walking over the dune.

"What kind of animal is that?" Sokka asked.

The fox ran up the side of the tower and disappeared through a window.

"I think that was one of the Knowledge Seekers," Professor Zei replied. "Oh, we must be close to the library!"

"No," Sokka said, leaning over his sister's shoulder. "This is the library! Look!" he pointed from the topmost turret of the library to the tower they were currently standing in front of. "It's completely buried."

"The library is buried?!" Zei exclaimed. He sank to his knees. "My life's ambition is now full of sand. Well, time to start excavating."

He pulled a tiny shovel out of his pocket and began digging in the sand, making no impression at all. Toph put a hand on the tower, causing vibrations to ripple down it.

"Actually," she said. "That won't be necessary. The inside seems to be completely intact. And it's huge."

"That fox thingy went in through a window," Sokka stated. "I say we climb up there and give it a look."

" _I_ say you go on without me," Toph said, folding her arms again and angling her body towards where Appa was standing behind them.

"You got something against libraries?" Katara asked.

"I've held books before," Toph shrugged. "And I've gotta tell you, they don't do it for me."

"Oh, right," Katara said sheepishly. "Sorry."

"Let me know if they have something you can listen to," Toph said, smiling again. The others nodded.

Sokka tied rope to the end of his boomerang and threw it up to the window. There, it hooked onto the ledge and held fast. As Professor Zei began scaling up the tower, Aang said to Appa, "Don't worry, buddy. I'm not making you go underground ever again. You can stay out here with Toph."

Appa grunted.

"'Sup?" Toph asked, leaning against the tower with her arms crossed.

Aang began scaling the rope and was followed by Sokka, Ellie, and finally Katara. Once they got to the window, each one climbed through one by one and went down the rope on the other side.

"Oh, it's breathtaking!" Zei exclaimed once they got down past the top, golden dome.

Below them were four pathways that crisscrossed across a deep chasm. Each pathway led to a different row of bookshelves. Above each of them were arches with carvings of owl faces on each one.

"The spirit spared no expense in designing this place," Professor Zei said in awe, pausing and staring around in awe. "Look at those beautiful buttresses!" Aang and Sokka giggled. "What's funny?"

"Nothing," Aang said quickly. "we just like architecture."

Ellie snorted and Katara rolled her eyes. Zei, however, didn't notice. Instead, he said, "As do I," with a smile.

They slid off the rope on the bridge below an Momo landed on Aang's shoulder.

"My word!" Zei as now examining an owl mosaic that was situated between two pillars. "The exquisite handiwork of this tile-rendered avian symbol…"

The four children stared at him blankly.

"Uh…Nice owl," Professor Zei corrected.

At the sound of rustling noises, they ran and hid behind the nearest pillars. Aang peeked around the pillar to see a giant owl examining the rope they had come down from. Ellie pulled him back behind the pillar as the owl said in an odd, reverberating voice, "I know you're back there."

Thinking fast, Ellie stepped out boldly. Then, Professor Zei scurried past her, saying, "Hello, I'm Professor Zei head of anthropology at Ba Sing Se University."

"And my name is Ellie. I'm the…well, _an_ …Avatar," Ellie finished lamely.

"You should leave the way you came," the owl said, looking to the side. "Unless you want to become a _stuffed_ head of anthropology."

Zei clutched the nape of his neck in concern. Aang, Sokka, and Katara walked out from behind the pillar to join them.

"Are you the spirit who brought this library to the physical world?" Sokka asked.

"Indeed," the enormous owl replied. "I am Wan Shi Tong, he who knows ten-thousand things. And you are obviously humans, which, by the way, are no longer permitted in my study."

"What do you have against humans?" Aang asked.

"Humans only bother learning things to get the edge on other humans," the spirit replied. "Like that firebender who came to this place a few years ago, looking to destroy his enemy."

Ellie's eyes widened and she remembered what a certain Admiral had told her and Iroh what seemed like ages ago, _"I was a lieutenant serving under Commander Shu in the Earth Kingdom. I discovered a hidden library underneath the ground…_ "

"Zhao!" she exclaimed.

Everyone turned to look at her. "At the North Pole, Zhao was going on about how he found scrolls about the ocean and the moon in a hidden library."

"So that's how he knew where to find the moon spirit!" Aang exclaimed.

"Which is why I cannot permit you to peruse my collection," Wan Shi Tong said.

"But—" Ellie protested. "I just want to find some information about the Avatar. A spirit actually told me to come here!"

"Hmm, very well," the owl said, staring at her. "I'll let you enjoy my vast collection on one condition. To prove your worth as scholars, you have to contribute some worthwhile knowledge."

Professor Zei stepped forward and held out an enormous book with a bow.

"Please accept this tome as a donation to your library," he said.

"First edition," the spirit said. "Very nice."

Wan Shi Tong swept a wing across it and it disappeared.

Katara pulled out a scroll, opened it, showing it to him, and said, "I have an authentic waterbending scroll."

"Ooh, these illustrations are quite stylish."

Once again he swept a wing across it and it disappeared as well.

Aang was next to step forward. He fished around in his pockets for a moment before producing a scroll—a wanted scroll.

"I guess that will do," Wan Shi Tong said with a sigh.

He took it and Sokka stepped forward with a piece of string. He tied the string in a crazy knot, thrust it forward, and shouted, "Ta da!"

The spirit blinked at him.

"See? It's a special knot!" Sokka said. "That counts as knowledge!"

"You're not very bright, are you?" the owl asked.

Sokka scowled.

Finally, Ellie stepped forward. She had her hands clasped behind her back. Then, she asked, "Have you ever heard of democracy?"

The spirit shook his head and Ellie launched into a long explanation about democracy and about how her country worked. Everyone there listened with interest, and when Wan Shi Tong let them go, Aang asked Ellie, "Who was this spirit that sent you here? And why didn't you tell us?"

Ellie shrugged. "I guess I just forgot."

"And the spirit's name?"

"Koh," Ellie replied simply.

Aang stopped suddenly.

"You know Koh?" he asked. "How?"

"I accidentally entered the Spirit World on the Winter Solstice and met Ai (she's the spirit of love and is quite annoying, really) and she took me to talk to Koh. And I'm guessing you met him as well?"

"Yeah," Aang replied. "At the North Pole."

"Did he threaten to steal your face?" Ellie asked.

"Yes," Aang said. "Wasn't it freaky?"

"Being threatened by a weird centipede-man?" Ellie asked incredulously. "Of course!"

The two of them laughed and the others just stared at them.

"What?" Ellie asked defensively.

Katara simply shook her head.

"Where would he have stuff on the Fire Nation?" Sokka asked quietly.

"Just try those books over there," Ellie said with a dismissive wave.

Katara pulled a book off of one of the shelves and scanned the page.

"Hey Aang!" she said after a minute of silence. "Did you know you were left handed in a past life?"

"Wow," Aang said, rubbing the back of his head, surrounded by books. "I always knew I was special."

Ellie walked further up the aisle and away from them. When she had met Koh, he had told her to learn about the two oldest spirits in the Spirit World. All of the books on that aisle where about earthbenders and the Earth Kingdom. Ellie rounded the aisle and walked up the one next to it, scanning the book titles. Then, she paused at the sight of one of the Knowledge Seekers.

"You don't know where I can learn about the oldest spirits, do you?" she asked it.

The creature dipped its head and ran off, disappearing at the end of the aisle.

OA

"The darkest day in Fire Nation history," Sokka read, looking down at a charred slip of paper that was pressed underneath a sheet of glass.

There was a date at the top, but it didn't say anything else. Sokka put a hand up to his chin thoughtfully. Then, he stuck his machete under the glass and lifted it up enough to pull the piece of parchment out.

He rolled it up and ran down the row of books, passing Aang, Katara, and Sokka.

"Sokka, where are you going?" Aang asked.

Sokka didn't stop, but he slowed and turned to face the Avatar, saying, "I want to know what happened to the Fire Nation on their darkest day. This could be promising."

OA

Ellie stood, rooted to the spot, watching the spot where it had disappeared in confusion. A second later, the fox's head peeked around the bookcase.

"All right," Ellie sighed. "I'm coming."

And it disappeared again with a wave of its tail.

"No, wait!" Ellie called, scrambling to run after it.

She ran to the end of the row of books and looked this way and that, barely catching a flash of movement before the fox was gone again. At that, she dashed down that row. When she finally caught up to the Knowledge Seeker, it had stopped in front of a door with ornate, glowing symbols around the doorframe.

OA

"The information on the Fire Nation should be just up here!" Sokka called over his shoulder as they reached a doorway that had a Fire Nation symbol above it.

They entered the room only to discover that everything inside it had been burned. The only thing left behind were ashes and charred remains of desks and chairs.

"Firebenders," Aang muttered.

"They destroyed everything having to do with the Fire Nation," Katara said.

OA

When it saw her, the fox put its paws against the door and it opened. Ellie followed it into a large, circular room. Lining the walls were little cubby holes that each had at least one scroll. In the center of the room was a large arch, much like the one in the North Pole that led to the Spirit World. There were four symbols etched into the frame—two at the top that stood for fire and water, and two at the bottom that stood for air and earth. Above the arch was an unusual looking light fixture that was round and lit by swirls of color.

"What is this place?" Ellie asked, staring at the light.

* * *

 **Hope you enjoyed it! So, I probably should have said before, but this one was kind of long so I split it in half. My _actual_ favorite part of "The Library" is the second part, a chapter I called "The Oldest Spirits". Hopefully, I should be posting it soon. Review your thoughts!**

 **~LittleMissMycroft**


	21. Part 2: The Oldest Spirits

**Disclaimer: I do not Avatar: the Last Airbender, nor do I own The Legend of Korra. I merely play with their ideas.**

* * *

 **Chapter Nine: The Oldest Spirits**

"That's so unfair!" Sokka exclaimed. "Just when I think I'm one step ahead of the Fire Nation, it turns out they beat us here a long time ago." Sokka collapsed on his knees. "I need to know what happened on the darkest day."

He heard a whimpering noise and turned to see a Knowledge Seeker standing on its hind legs in the doorway.

"Hello, little weird fox guy," he said.

The fox drops onto all fours and pointed outside the room with one leg.

"Seems it's trying to assist you," Zei observed.

"Um, sure, I guess I'll follow you," Sokka said.

Team Avatar followed the Knowledge Seeker to a large, round, golden door. The fox ran up to the wall and through a hole. A second later, the door rolled to the side to reveal the creature sitting on the other side.

The four of them walked slowly to the center of the room, looking all about at the dark room. The Knowledge Seeker pushed on a lever with two of its paws beside a wheel in the center of the room and their surroundings lit up. The domed ceiling went from black to a sky blue. Then, it changed from the sky blue to a night, with glowing stars that lit up the faces of the people below.

As it did this, there was a grinding, mechanical noise and a metal moon rose to their right, and crossed the ceiling, following the sun.

"This room is a true marvel," the professor stated. "A mechanical wonder! It's a planetarium that shows the heavens moving!"

OA

The fox that had guided Ellie ran to the very back of the room and pulled a very large scroll out of the cubby and set it at Ellie feet. She picked it up and looked at it. It was at least four feet wide. Then, after a moment's hesitation, the girl unrolled the scroll and set it on the ground in one fluid motion. Then, grassy hills rolled out onto its surface. A few inches above the map hovered two sources of light—the moon on one end and the sun on the other. Above that, eight little orbs circled that Ellie then realized were planets.

"Woah!" she said.

She walked along the side of the landscape, around the nearest hill, to see two figures struggling in the clearing. One was white with blue markings and the other was brown with orange markings. It seemed as if the white one was holding onto the brown one, and the brown one was struggling to get away.

Then, Ellie jumped as she heard a voice say, "The two oldest beings known to Spirit-kind were called Raava and Vaatu."

It was Wan Shi Tong. Ellie looked about, but as the voice continued talking she realized that it was coming from the scroll itself.

"Raava was the spirit of light and order, while Vaatu was the spirit of darkness and chaos. Since the beginning of time, they struggled in a never-ending battle.

"One day a human by the name of Wan entered the valley." A man with wild brown hair and scraggly orange clothes entered the valley. "Not knowing the reason the two spirits struggled, the human released Vaatu to wreak havoc on the world. Soon, the world began growing darker and all of the spirits were influenced by Vaatu. Knowing that he had done wrong, Wan went to Raava to try to redeem himself.

"Already wielding fire, the human and Raava went to a lion-turtle, asking for the ability to bend air as well." The scene on the scroll changed to a scene where Wan stood in front of a lion-turtle. "Before then, no human had ever been able to wield more than one element at once. Because of this, Raava stored the element inside her and entered Wan whenever he needed to bend it. They traveled around the world, collecting the other two elements. All the while, Raava would enter Wan so that he could practice each element."

When the scene changed again, Raava plunged into Wan. His eyes glowed white and his form seemed hazy. He then bent all four elements.

OA

As the moon set, a metal sun rose, changing the night to day.

"Uh, this is beautiful," Sokka agreed, "but how is it helpful?"

Katara looked down at the circular dials in the center of the room.

"Maybe these represent dates and times," she said. "Sokka, try entering that date from that parchment you took."

"Shhh, Katara, not in front of him! He's with the owl!" Sokka hissed, gesturing to the fox, who whimpered and hung his head.

Sokka then glanced at the parchment and changed the four calendar wheels to match the date on it. He pushed the lever and the domed ceiling changed from day to night again.

"Wow I got to hand it to you, Sokka," Aang said. "You picked the best mini vacation for sure."

The sun set and rose and set again. So many days passed that it was difficult to keep track. Then, once the sky reflected day, the moon crossed over the sun and the sky grew dark.

OA

"At the Harmonic Convergence, Wan and Raava met Vaatu at the Spirit Portals." At this, the planets circling above the scroll crossed each other until they were lined up perfectly with the sun. Below, Raava plunged into Wan again. "The light spirit, while within Wan, engaged in battle with Vaatu. Soon, they discovered that the longer Raava stayed inside Wan, the more Wan was at risk. Wan refused to let Raava leave him, but they stood no chance against Vaatu."

As Wan Shi Tong spoke, Ellie stared at the battle, entranced by the movements of the little figures, then she watched as Vaatu struck Wan. Wan tumbled and fell in front of a beam of light. The man put a hand in the portal and let out a piercing yell as Wan Shi Tong said, "The only choice was for Wan and Raava to fuse permanently. Once fused, the man was no longer an ordinary human—nor was Raava an ordinary spirit. They had become one—the first Avatar. As soon as they were fused, the Avatar trapped Vaatu in the tree of time where he would be imprisoned until the next Harmonic Convergence."

Ellie watched as Wan bent rings of fire, earth, water, and air around the dark spirit. He then levitated this bubble into a large, gnarled tree. Once inside, the tree was sealed with a purple force field. Then, the scroll rolled up with a snap.

After a pause of silence, Ellie picked up the scroll, stared at it for a second, and tucked it into her bag.

OA

"What happened to the sun?" Katara asked.

Aang narrowed his eyes and said, "Great, you must have broken it."

Sokka walked up to stand beside the airbender, looking up at where the sun and the moon were crossed.

"It's not broken," he said. "The sun is behind the moon. It's a solar eclipse! It's literally the darkest day in Fire Nation history. Now I get it," he grabbed Aang's shoulders and shook him. "Something awful happened on that day. I don't know what, but I do know why. Firebenders lose their bending during a solar eclipse!"

"That makes sense," Katara said. "I mean, think what the lunar eclipse did to the waterbenders at the North Pole. This is huge."

The Knowledge Seeker whimpered again and stood on its hind legs.

"Fine," Sokka said. "You earned it."

He tossed the fox a treat from his bag. Then, he turned back to the others and said, "We've got to get this information to the Earth King at Ba Sing Se. We'll wait for the next eclipse, then we'll invade the Fire Nation when they're totally helpless. The Fire Lord is going down!"

All four suddenly jumped as a voice said from behind them, "Mortals are so predictable, and such terrible liars."

They turned to see Wan Shi Tong standing in the doorway behind them. Sokka gulped.

"You betrayed my trust," the spirit said. "From the beginning, you intended to misuse this knowledge for evil purposes."

"You don't understand," Sokka protested. "If anyone's evil, it's the Fire nation. You saw what they did to your library. They're destructive and dangerous. We need this information."

"You think you're the first person to believe their war was justified?" Wan Shi Tong asked. "Countless others before you have come here seeking weapons or weakness or battle strategies."

"We had no choice," Aang pleaded. "Please, we're just trying to protect the people we love!"

"And now I am going to protect what I love," Wan Shi Tong said, flapping his wings.

The entire library began shaking.

"What are you doing?" Aang shouted.

"I'm taking my knowledge back," the spirit replied. "No one will ever abuse it again."

Sand began pouring from the ceiling.

"He's sinking the building!" Katara exclaimed. "We've gotta get out of here!"

"I'm afraid I can't allow that," Wan Shi Tong said. "You already know too much."

His neck stretched terrifyingly, making him seem even bigger, and pecked at the ground, narrowly missing Sokka. With a yell, the four of them dashed out of the planetarium.

OA

Ellie had just left the Spirit Room with the fox following her when the ground began to shake and the walls began to rumble. Sand began pouring from the ceiling and pooling on the ground.

"He's sinking the library!" Ellie shouted. She turned to the Knowledge Seeker. "Can you take me back to where we came in?"

The fox dipped its head again and scurried off. Ellie ran behind it, and this time she managed to keep up.

OA

There was a faint rumble and Appa groaned.

"I already told you," Toph muttered. "I don't wanna snuggle."

She shrieked and fell backwards as Appa got up, moving away from the tower. Toph leapt to her feet, feeling the ground shake.

"The library's sinking," she said. "The library's sinking!"

She ran forward and punched the tower, struggling to hold it in place. Her feet began sinking into the sand, so she let go of the tower just long enough to harden the ground beneath her before punching the wall again.

OA

Just as they had reached where they had come in again, Professor Zei stopped running long enough to turn to the rabid spirit and cry out, "Great Knowledge Spirit, I beg you, do not destroy your vast collection of priceless tomes!"

Wan Shi Tong tried to clip the man with his beak and Aang pulled him back just in time with a stream of air. Then, he sent a blast of air, sending the spirit over the railing and into the chasm.

"We've gotta get back to the surface!" Aang shouted.

"Sokka, let's go!" Katara cried.

"But we still don't know when the next eclipse is gonna happen!" Sokka protested.

"Don't be stupid!" Katara exclaimed. "We'll find out later!"

"No, we won't," Sokka retorted. "If we leave this place, we'll never get the information. Aang, come with me to the planetarium, I need cover. Katara, find Ellie and get out of here!"

"But—!"

Wan Shi Tong reappeared, landing in between Katara and Sokka.

"Go!" Sokka shouted.

"Hurry Sokka!" Katara exclaimed, and she ran the opposite direction as the spirit tried to kill her.

OA

Up on the surface, Toph was still trying valiantly to hold the library up. Appa growled nervously.

"What is it now?" she asked.

She could hear the wind pick up behind them and the scooting sounds of a sandsailer. She tried to feel the vibrations in the earth to see what was going on, but the sand was so loose and shifty that everything looked fuzzy.

"Who's there?" she called out, still struggling to hold the library in place.

OA

"Why are we doing this?" Aang asked Sokka.

"Because if this calendar can tell us about eclipses in the past, then maybe it can project when the next one will be."

"You can't possibly check every single date," Aang retorted.

"I don't have to," Sokka said, adjusting the calendar wheel. "We just need to check every date before Sozin's Comet arrives. Because after that—well, try not to think about that."

They tried every date starting with the next day. After at least forty days had been put into the planetarium, Aang moaned, "Come on, eclipse."

He pushed the lever and the sun rose, followed by the moon, which crossed in front of it.

"That's it!" Sokka exclaimed. "The solar eclipse! It's just a few months away." He took out a piece of paper and wrote the date down. "Got it. Now, let's get to Ba Sing Se."

OA

Toph figured out that they were more sandbenders. Nothing could make those noises other than the sandbenders' sandsailers. She also determined that they were surrounding Appa. She knew that they had been interested in Appa before.

But for once Toph found a fight where she didn't know what to do. She was still struggling to hold the tower up, and if she let go her friends might be trapped inside. There was also the fact that she could hardly make out a thing through the sand.

Still, she growled, "Don't make me put this down!"

Toph let go of the library just long enough to send blasts of sand behind her, toward where she thought the sandbenders were. The blind girl couldn't tell if she had hit them or not, but was forced to grab the tower again.

She could hear Appa groaning and the sand pick up again, swirling all around the area.

"No!" she cried. "Stop sinking!" she fired three more slices of sand. "No!"

Toph grabbed the library again and heard the sandsailers moving away—along with Appa's groans of distress. The blind girl bowed her head and muttered, "I'm sorry, Appa."

OA

Ellie ran up aisles, down hallways, and flew over random piles of sand as she followed the Knowledge Seeker. She heard a cracking noise and glanced behind her to see sand pouring out of a new hole in the ceiling.

Then, she turned forward just long enough to brace herself for impact as she hurtled straight into Katara.

"Sorry," Katara whispered.

"We just seem to keep doing this, don't we?" Ellie asked.

"Shhh!" Katara exclaimed, pointing around the bookshelf. "C'mon."

She grabbed Ellie and pulled her into another aisle and they both stood there, panting.

"What're we doing?" Ellie whispered.

"Hiding," Katara explained.

"Oh-ooh!" Ellie replied. She vaguely remembered the episode of the Library. "Sokka said something about the Fire Nation, didn't he?"

Katara put a finger up to her lips and Ellie fell silent. Then, Katara grabbed her wrist and pulled her toward the bridges. Just then, they caught sight of Wan Shi Tong, rushing toward them. The ran down an aisle and dove behind a bookshelf, clutching each other and panting wide-eyed. Just as Ellie looked down and noticed that Momo's tail was probably showing, she heard, "At least I'll have one specimen to add to my collection."

Katara dove out of the way just in time to save Momo from being lunch. Then, the two girls dashed to the bridge. Wan Shi Tong took to the air and landed between them. Naturally, they both shifted into stances; Katara took on a waterbending stance and Ellie took on a firebending stance.

"Your bending won't do you much good here. I've studied Northern Water Tribe, Southern Water Tribe, and Foggy Swamp waterbending as well as Mainland firebending, colony-style firebending, and even Sun Warrior style."

Just then, they heard a yell and the spirit slumped forward. Above, Sokka was hanging onto Aang's glider, brandishing a book, and shouting, "That's called Sokka style. Learn it!"

Aang landed as Ellie began pulling herself up the rope, followed by Katara. Sokka began scaling up the rope as well as Aang took off on his glider again and flew up to the window to help the girls through. Then, Sokka paused.

"Wait!" he cried. "Professor, let's go."

Ellie paused to look down at where Zei was sitting in the middle of a pile of books and sand. He didn't look as if he was ready to leave.

"I'm not leaving," he said. "I cant. I spent too long trying to find this place. There's not another collection of knowledge like this on earth. I could spend an eternity in here."

"Just come on!" Katara shouted to her brother.

Wan Shi Tong shook the rope just then, causing Ellie and Sokka to fall off; Katara was already halfway through the window. So Aang flew down and caught the two of them on the top of his glider. He narrowly avoided the owl spirit, shot through the window, and pulled Katara with him by the hand. Then, the four of them landed onto the sand below just before Toph fell away from the tower and it sank into the ground completely.

"We got it," Sokka said, hugging his sister. "There's a solar eclipse coming. The Fire nation's in for it now!"

Aang stood and looked around. Then, he turned to Toph.

"Where's Appa?" he asked.

Toph shook her head tearfully, clutching it with both hands.

* * *

 **You figured it out what Ellie is yet? *rubs hands together with a gleeful expression* Review if you did! This is where the plot of my entire Other Avatar arc actually starts up. So excited! Anyway, R &R!**

 **~LittleMissMycroft**


	22. Part 2: The Desert

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: the Last Airbender**

 **This one's pretty close to the original episode, but the entire Ba Sing Se arc is up next! *and the crowd exhales loudly through their mouths***

* * *

 **Chapter Ten: The Desert**

They spread out, facing in opposite directions, trying to spot Appa. Sand whipped around them as the sandstorm the sandbenders had created was still calming down. Right in front of a large crater where the library used to be, Toph sat, listening to Aang yell at her.

"How could you let them take Appa?!" Aang asked, enraged. "Why didn't you stop them?!"

"I couldn't!" Toph protested defensively. "The library was sinking! You guys were still inside and—"

"You could've come to get us!" Aang exclaimed. "I could've saved him!"

"I can hardly feel any vibrations out here. The sandbenders snuck up on me and there wasn't enough time to—"

"You just didn't care! You never liked Appa! You wanted him gone!"

"Aang, stop," Katara said, walking over to him. "Toph did the best she could. She saved all of our lives."

"Who's gonna save our lives now?" Sokka asked, still staring out into the desert. Ellie, who knew they wouldn't find him, turned to watch the others. "We'll never make it outta here."

"That's all any of you guys care about," Aang said violently, stalking away from the rest of the group, "yourselves! You don't care whether Appa is okay or not!"

"Appa is fine!" Ellie exclaimed. "It's not like he's going to be killed. I would be looking for him, but we can't afford to be fighting now."

"I'm going after Appa," Aang said coldly, looking down and clutching his staff.

Aang shot into the air on his glider and Katara shouted after him, "Aang, wait!"

Then she sighed as he disappeared from sight.

"We'd better start walking," Ellie said.

Katara nodded. "We're the only people who know about the solar eclipse. We have to get that information to Ba Sing Se."

The four of them formed a line and started walking away from where the library used to be.

Ellie wanted to face-palm when she heard Sokka ask, "You think if we dig out the giant owl, he'll give us a ride?"

OA

Zuko rolled his eyes as Iroh moaned in fake pain again every time their ostrich horse took a step.

"Maybe we should make camp," he said. It would at least be better than listening to his uncle moan non-stop.

"No please," Iroh said. "Don't stop just for me!"

He moaned again, clutching his injured arm. Zuko pulled on the reins and they skidded to a halt. Iroh dismounted first, sitting on a nearby rock. As Zuko slid off the ostrich horse's back, its eyes widened in alarm and it clicked its beak.

Zuko instinctively shifted into a defensive stance and Iroh asked, "What is it now?"

Suddenly several rhinos burst through the thicket, circling them. One stopped directly in front of them, and the man atop it looked down at Iroh.

"Colonel Mongke!" Iroh exclaimed. "What a pleasant surprise!"

"If you're surprised we're here, then the Dragon of the West has lost a few steps!" Colonel Mongke said.

Each man behind him readied a different weapon.

"You know these guys?" Zuko asked, surprised evident in his voice.

"Sure," his uncle replied with a smile. "Colonel Mongke and the Rough Rhinos are legendary. Each one is a different weapons specialist. They are also a very capable singing group."

Mongke, who had a fist ready to firebend at any second, said, "We're not here to give a concert. We're here to apprehend fugitives!"

Iroh rubbed his arm and said slyly, "Would you like some tea first? I'd love some. How about you, Kahchi? I make you as a jasmine man. Am I right?"

"Enough stalling!" Mongke barked. "Round 'em up!"

OA

The four children were exhausted, hot, and dehydrated by the time a couples of hours had passed. They were all sporting mild patches of pink on their cheeks, that Ellie was sure would turn into sunburns in no time. Having olive skin, Ellie had never burned before in her life, but then again she had never spent days wandering in a desert before.

Sokka stopped to take Momo off of his back and used his wings to create some shade causing Toph to crash into him.

"Can't you watch where you're—?!"

"No."

"Right, sorry," Sokka replied awkwardly.

Katara turned around to give the others some encouragement.

"Come on guys, we've got to stick together."

"If I sweat anymore," Sokka said, trying to pry his stick clothes of off Toph, "I don't think sticking together will be a problem.

Toph slapped a hand on Sokka's face and shoved him away from her.

"Hey, I have an idea!" Ellie exclaimed.

She uncapped her waterskin pouch and bent some water out of it. Then, she separated it into little tiny droplets and sprayed them all with mist, careful to keep control of it and not lose any. They all sighed in gratefulness.

Then, she put the mist back into her pouch.

They walked for a few minutes, instantly heating back up. After they were hot and thirsty again, Toph asked.

"Katara, can I have some more water?"

"Okay," the water tribe girl replied. "But even with two pouches, we need to try to conserve it."

She bent four small blobs of water out of her pouch and into the mouths of Ellie, Toph, Sokka, and Momo. Sokka swished the water around his dry mouth before swallowing.

"We're drinking your bending water," he stated, smacking his lips as he tried to figure out why the water tasted so odd. "You used this on the swamp guy! Ugh!"

"It does taste swampy," Toph muttered.

"And just think," Ellie added, "mine probably tastes like sweat."

"I'm know," Katara replied, sounding genuinely sorry, "But it's all we have."

"Not anymore!" Sokka exclaimed. "Look!"

He pointed to a cactus that was standing a few feet away. The teen walked over to it and chopped a piece off with his machete, pouring the fluid that was inside into his mouth. Momo crawled over his shoulder to get a taster as well.

Katara hurried over to Sokka, grabbing Toph's arm and dragging her behind, while Ellie sauntered up to him with her arms crossed.

"You're really going to drink something out of some strange plant?" she asked skeptically.

"Ellie's right," Katara said. "It could be poisonous."

"But there's water trapped inside these!" the boy exclaimed, holding a bowl-like chunk full of the liquid out to them.

Katara stepped away from him and said, "I don't know…"

"Suit yourself," Sokka said, tipping it into his own mouth. "It's very thirst quenching though."

He gave Katara a wide smile as his pupils dilated.

"Drink cactus juice!" he exclaimed. "It'll quench ya! Nothing's quenchier! It's the quenchiest!"

Katara gave him a very weird look and took the cactus juice from him, pouring it into the sand.

"Okay," she said. "I think you've had enough."

Sokka squinted at Toph and said stupidly, with his mouth hanging open, "Who lit Toph on fire?"

Katara opened her mouth to say something, but she was distracted at the sound of Momo making crazy, high pitched noises. Both she and Ellie looked up to see Momo flying in circles, increasing in speed, before plummeting into the ground head first. Katara picked him up.

"Can I get some of that cactus?" Toph asked.

"I don't think that's a good idea," Ellie replied, looking at Sokka, who was staring at the sky with his mouth still hanging open as Katara walked away.

Katara seemed to realize that her brother wasn't with them, and she ran back, grabbed his hand, and dragged him with her.

"How did we get out here in the middle of the ocean?" he wondered aloud.

"Exhibit A," Ellie said to Toph, who smiled.

OA

"Yeah a little blind girl and her friends passed through here a few days ago," said one of the people that lived at Misty Palms Oasis.

"Did they give you any indication of where they were headed?" Master Yu asked.

"Maybe you could give me a little incentive?" the short, chubby man said, rubbing his two fingers against his thumb.

"You suggesting I break your fingers?" Xin Fu asked violently.

The man quickly hid his hand behind his back and said, "They went into the desert! Too bad there's almost no chance they survived."

"That's all right," Xin Fu replied "She's wanted dead or alive."

"No she's not!" Yu argued. "I'm sure her father wants her alive!"

"Hey looked," Xin Fu said. "Fire Nation wanted posters."

Among them were posters of Aang, Jeong Jeong, Iroh, and Zuko.

"So?" Yu asked.

"So look who's here," Xin Fu replied, pointing to the entrance of a tavern where two men were entering. One was old and portly and the other was young with short dark hair and a scar on one side of his face.

OA

As the sun had almost set, Aang finally joined them with a whoosh and a twirl of his staff. He faced away from them, looking down.

"I'm sorry, Aang," Katara said, putting aa hand on his shoulder. "I know it's hard for you right now but we need to focus on getting out of here."

"What's the difference?" Aang asked hopelessly. "We won't survive without Appa. We all know it."

"Come on Aang," she said."ght when it'r, laying on his back and staring up at buzzard wasps that were circling overhead.

rom them, looking down Katara said. "We can do this if we work together. Right Toph?"

"As far as I can feel, we're trapped in a bowl of sand pudding. I got nothin'."

"Sokka?" Katara asked.

"Why don't we ask the circle birds?" he said in an odd voice, laying on his back and staring up at buzzard wasps that were circling overhead.

"Ellie?"

Ellie shrugged.

"It would be nice if we traveled at night when it's not hot," she said.

Katara thought for a moment.

"All right," she said. "We'll get some sleep now and keep going once it's dark."

"Thanks," Ellie replied warmly, sitting down next to Aang and leaning against a dune.

Sokka, who was already laying down, closed his eyes with a wide smile on his face. Toph, who was still standing, plopped face down onto the sand. Katara eyed the two Avatars, noting that neither looked ready to sleep yet, but decided not to say anything for the time being.

Aang was, of course, brooding about Appa, while Ellie was thinking about what she had seen in the library. Without thinking, she grabbed her bag, feeling for the scroll that was hidden inside. She thought about the spirits she had only recently discovered—Raava and Vaatu. Her eyes slid sideways and focused on Aang for a second.

It was hard to believe that he had a spirit attached to—no, _fused_ with his soul. And if he had the spirit of light and peace inside him that meant…Ellie shook her head. Perhaps Aang had been right. Perhaps she _was_ simply a future version of him…

But somehow, Ellie knew that was not true. Something deep down told her that she had the spirit of darkness and chaos inside her, and honestly, it made sense. Her temper was short, and like she had said in the swamp, " _There's always something dark inside me, waiting for that moment to destroy…_ "

Ellie huffed, putting her head in her hands as she rested her chin on her knees. Finally, she decided that it would be better to sleep than to dwell on these thoughts. The last thing she saw before she nodded off was Katara walking over to Aang and kneeling down in front of him to talk.

OA

"No one here is going to help us," Zuko sulked. His arms were crossed over his chest while he stood by his uncle in the desert tavern. "These people just look like filthy wanderers."

"So do we," Iroh replied calmly, sweeping the tavern with his gaze. Suddenly, he pointed. "Ah, this is interesting." Zuko turned to see a scrawny, bald, old man sitting behind a pai sho board. "I think I found our friend."

"You brought us here to gamble on pai sho?" Zuko asked impatiently.

"I don't think this is a gamble," Iroh replied, receiving a scoff from his nephew.

Over in the corner of the tavern, the pair of men from Gaoling were bickering.

"Let's take them now!" Xin Fu exclaimed shortly.

"This place is full of desperate characters," Yu replied. "If they find out we're collecting a bounty, we might have to fight them all just to keep our prize! _Patience_."

"May I have this game?" Iroh asked, indicating to the board.

The man gestured to the seat across from him.

"The guest has the first move," he said. Iroh sat and placed his ever-so-precious lotus tile on the board. "I see you favor the white lotus gambit. Not many still cling to the ancient ways."

He cupped his hands in front of him and Iroh returned the gesture.

"Those who do can always find a friend," Iroh added.

"Then let us play," the old man replied.

It was pai sho like Zuko had never seen it. Iroh and his new friend were placing tiles onto the board at lightning speed. The young man's eyes zipped back and forth as he watched them each take a turn, and after a minute he pulled up a stool for himself. Finally, the two old men stopped and Zuko realized that the pai sho tiles made the shape of a flower—the white lotus.

"Welcome brother," the bald man said to Iroh. "The White Lotus opens wide to those who know her secrets."

"What are you old gasbags talking about?" Zuko finally blurted out.

"I always tried to tell you that Pai Sho is more than just a game," Iroh replied cryptically, rolling his lotus tile across his knuckles.

Zuko growled in annoyance. He hated it when his uncle was so cryptic. Why couldn't he just tell him what he meant? The thought made him think briefly of Ellie, who liked to bestow momentary wisdom that was nearly as cryptic as his uncle. The teenager quickly shook the thought out of his head.

Xin Fu then leapt to his feet, shouting, "I'm not waiting all night for these geezers to finish yapping!" He walked over to the pai sho table and Yu reluctantly followed him. "It's over! You two fugitives are coming with me!"

The bald, old man placed himself between the two groups and pointed an accusing finger at Zuko and Iroh.

"I knew it!" he exclaimed. "You two are wanted criminals with a huge bounty over your heads!"

"I thought you said he would help!" Zuko bit out through his teeth.

"He is," Iroh replied in a low voice. "Just watch."

The old man then turned on Xin Fu. "You think you are going to capture them and collect all that gold?"

"Gold" seemed to be the magic word. Once it had parted from the gambler's lips, all eyes in the tavern were turned on them. It echoed around the small hut as people enjoyed the thought of gaining gold for themselves.

Xin Fu and Yu obviously noticed, as Yu eyed the other men in the tavern warily.

"Uh, maybe we shouldn't," he muttered.

But Xin Fu simply smirked and slipped into an earthbending stance. As the two men began to engage in a fight, Zuko and Iroh were led away from them and slipped out of the tavern into the night.

OA

Ellie woke with a start as Katara shook her shoulders. She glanced around to see that everyone was already awake. Sokka, it seemed, was still suffering from the hallucinogenic cactus juice, and Aang was still moping about Appa. Sitting up between them was Toph, who was rubbing her sightless eyes tiredly.

"Can I have more water?" she asked in a pitiful voice.

"Okay," Katara replied hesitantly. "But this is the last of it."

As she bent a tendril of water out of her pouch, the others scooted closer, ready to receive a mouthful of water. Momo, the most eager of them all, flew headfirst into the stream, sending it plunging into the sand beneath their feet.

"Momo, no!" Sokka exclaimed, scraping his fingers through the wet sand. "You've killed us all!"

"No, he hasn't," Katara replied, pulling the water out of the sand

"Oh, _right_ ," Sokka said with a happy smile. " _Bending_."

Katara separated the water into four globs and bent it into the mouth of the others. Again, Sokka swished it around his mouth before swallowing.

"Sokka, let me see those things you got from the library," Katara said to her brother.

Instantly, Sokka was sitting up, clutching his bag to his chest.

"What?" He asked. "I didn't steal anything! Who told you that?" Suddenly he rounded on Momo and pointed an accusing finger at the lemur. "It was _you!_ _You_ ratted me out!"

Katara eyed the two of them with a face of exasperation as Momo buried his face in his paws and sobbed.

"Sokka," she replied. "I was _there?_ "

Katara wrenched the bag from his grasp and began looking through maps and charts.

"It doesn't matter," Aang moped. "None of those will show us where Appa is."

A vein ticked in Ellie's forehead.

"No," Katara said patiently before the other Avatar could retort, "but we can find out which way Ba Sing Se is. We can use the stars to guide us."

With that, she stood and said, "Come on. We need to get moving."

As they walked away from the place they had slept for a few hours, Toph mumbled, "Yesterday my mouth tasted like mud. Now it just tastes like sand. I never thought I'd miss the taste of mud so much."

They walked several hours into the night in silence, occasionally taking breaks where Ellie would bend little amounts of her water into their mouths. Finally, the silence was broken during one of their stretches of silent walking as Toph suddenly fell into the sand with an "ouch!".

The others turned to see her sitting in the sand, rubbing her foot.

"Crud!" she exclaimed. "I'm so sick of not being able to feel where we're going! And what _idiot_ decides to bury a boat in the _desert!?_ " she gestured to a small triangular shape poking out of the sand.

"A boat?" Katara asked skeptically, running over to inspect it.

"Believe me," Toph replied sourly. "I kicked it hard enough to feel plenty of vibrations."

Aang looked at it with curiosity, holding his staff aloft. Then, he whipped up a strong gust of wind that cleared the sand away from the buried object. Ellie peered at the object that was slightly familiar—it had two legs that were shaped like boats and a platform in the middle to stand on. On the far end, attached to the boats, was a large sail.

Ellie remembered where she had seen it just as Katara exclaimed, "It's one of the gliders the sandbenders use!" She climbed up on it. "And look! It's got some kind of compass!"

"I bet it can point us out of here!" Ellie added. "Aang and I can take turns making gusts of wind so we can sail it."

"We're gonna make it!" Katara finished happily.

OA

"It is an honor to welcome such a high-ranking member of the White lotus," the bald man was saying as he led them through his flower shop. "Being a Grand Master, you must know so many secrets."

"Now that you've played Pai Sho," Zuko started irritably, "are you going to do some flower arranging, or is someone in this club going to offer some real help?"

"You must forgive my nephew," Iroh said on his behalf. "He is not an initiate and has little appreciation for the cryptic arts."

Zuko rolled his eyes. The desert-dweller led them to a door at the back of the room and knocked twice. A small window in the door slid open and a man peeked through, asking, "Who knocks at the guarded gate?"

"One who has eaten its fruit and tasted its mysteries," Iroh replied.

The old man then smiled as the door was opened for him. The bald man went first, followed by Iroh. As Zuko tried to follow, the door shut in his face. Zuko growled and clenched his fists. The window slid open once again, this time revealing Iroh's face.

"I'm sorry," he said, "but I'm afraid it's members only. Wait out here."

Zuko folded his arms across his chest once again, but did not complain as the window slid shut. He leaned back against the wall and looked over to see a flowering plant next to him. Boredly, he sniffed it before resuming his vigil.

OA

"The needle on this compass doesn't seem to be pointing north, according to my charts," Katara said, looking from the sandy compass to a chart of the stars that she held in her hands.

"Take it easy little lady," Sokka said dreamily as he dangled his feet off the end of the glider. "I'm sure the sand folks that built this baby must know how to get around."

Ellie smirked from where she was helping Aang keep up the sail as Katara looked at her brother in annoyance. Katara turned back toward the horizon to see a large rock steadily growing larger as they neared it.

"That's what the compass is pointing to!" Katara exclaimed. "That giant rock must be the magnetic center of the desert!"

"A rock?!" Toph exclaimed, sounding as if Christmas had come early. "Yes! Let's go!"

"Maybe we'll find some water there," Ellie suggested.

"Maybe we can find some sandbenders," Aang added darkly, sending a gust of wind ahead of them.

By the time the glider had reached the rock and the five children were just climbing over the edge, the sun had begun to rise. Toph was the last to clear the cliff and stand at the top, and Ellie helped her up.

"Finally!" Toph exclaimed happily, falling onto the ground and making an earth angel, "solid ground!"

She got up and walked over to Ellie, who was heading away from the edge to explore a series of tunnels hat were at the back of the rock. As they all entered a tunnel, Sokka sucked in a deep breath and let it go, looking around. The tunnel was oddly shaped and had smooth walls that dripped with an odd yellow substance.

"I think my head's finally starting to clear of that cactus juice," he said. "And look!" he scooped up some of the yellow stuff and stuck it in his mouth, before exclaiming, "Ugh! It tastes like rotten penguin meat! Oh, I feel woozy."

"You been hallucinating all day," Katara retorted, "and now you just like something off the wall of a cave?!"

"Hey," Sokka replied. "I have a natural curiosity."

"More like an unnatural curiosity," Ellie replied, laughing.

"I don't think this is a normal cave," Toph interrupted.. "This was carved by something."

"Yeah," Aang replied, glancing around. "Look at the shape."

Ellie looked straight down the tunnel, taking in the fact that it was hexagonal.

"There's something buzzing in here," Toph said slowly. "Something that's coming for us!"

Not waiting to find out what was coming for them, Ellie ran back, leading the others into the early morning light. Toph and Aang screamed as they turned to see a buzzard-wasp fly out of the cave straight for them. Aang pulled Toph down as it flew over their heads. A second wasp flew out and dove directly for Ellie, who swiftly rolled out of the way, shooting out flames as she went.

She just barely missed the wasp, and then got to her feet only to realize that they were now completely surrounded. Aang blasted one wasp away with a gust of wind. Another one touched down on the ground, and Toph turned around and shot the rock up from underneath it. Another buzzard-wasp flew in between her and Sokka. Though she could not see it, she could hear the buzzing and she lifted a rock between her and Sokka with a grunt, throwing it into the air where she heard the sound. The giant rock landed inches away from Sokka.

"What are you doing?" he exclaimed. "That rock almost crushed me!"

"Sorry!" Toph apologized. "I can't tell where they are in the air!"

At the sound of more buzzing, Sokka ran off.

"I got this one!" he said, swiping his machete at thin air.

"Sokka, there's nothing there," Katara deadpanned.

"I guess my head's not as clear as I thought," he replied, lowering his weapon

"We have to get out of here!" Katara exclaimed, umping to the side to avoid a wasp. "I'm completely out of water."

Ellie replied by flaming a buzzard-wasp. Another swooped past her and grabbed Momo, flying straight out over the desert.

"Momo!" Aang cried out. "I'm not losing anyone else out here."

He whipped out his glider and threw himself off of the earth.

"Come on," Katara said once he had left. "We're going down."

They slowly made their way down a narrow ledge, Katara leading Toph. Angry that their prey was escaping, the wasps swarmed over the edge of the cliff.

"Toph, shoot right there," Katara said, pointing at a nearby wasp. She waited for it to came in range and then cried, "Fire!"

Toph shot the rock she had been suspending and it hit home.

"Yeah! You got it!" Sokka exclaimed. "She got it right?"

" _Nooooo_ ," Ellie replied sarcastically.

"Keep moving!" Katara instructed them.

Meanwhile, Aang dove and leveled out just beneath the buzzard-wasp. With a kick of his leg, a large bought of wind swept the wasp down, and it landed in the sand with a thud. Aang touched down before he could fall and his glider snapped shut. Still seething with anger, he stalked off before jumping into the air again. Momo followed, dragging his tail in the sand with his ears laid back.

"On your left!" Katara said to Toph.

The blind girl shot a rock to her left, hitting another wasp. With that, they stepped from the earth onto the sand next to the sandsailer. More and more wasps surged over the edge of the cliff and Ellie wondered with dread if the steady stream would ever stop. Then, large waves of sand rose, forming walls between them and the creatures. Ellie raised her arm to shield her face from flying sand, and lowered it to see several sandbenders standing in front of them, their sailers not far behind them. Aang landed in front of them, acting as a barrier between the two groups.

OA

It seemed like forever before Iroh and the bald man returned.

"What's going on?" Zuko asked immediately, snapping out of his hunched over stance.

"Everything has been arranged," Iroh replied serenely. "We are heading to Ba Sing Se."

"Why are we going to the Earth Kingdom capital?" Zuko asked, mildly wondering about his uncle's judgement, or lack thereof.

"The city is filled with refugees," the bald man replied. "No one will notice two more."

"We can hide in plain sight," Iroh added. "And it's safe from the Fire Nation. Even _I_ couldn't break through to the city."

Suddenly, the door to the flower shop opened and a boy about Zuko's age came in, brandishing two slips of paper.

"I've got the passports for our guests," he boy said, "but there are two men out there looking for them."

They looked past the boy to see the two men from the pub questioning passersby.

"I've got an idea," the old, bald man said.

OA

"What are you doing out here with a sandbender sailor?" the leader, a middle-aged man, asked. "From the looks of it, you stole it from the Hami Tribe."

"We found the sailor abandoned in the desert," Katara replied. "We're traveling with the Avatar. Our bison was stolen and we hope to find it in Ba Sing Se."

At the word 'Avatar', the man's eyes widened and the anger left them. A young man to his right, however, stepped forward and exclaimed, "You accuse our people of theft while you ride in on a stolen sandsailer?"

"Quiet, Gashiun!" the other man said. "If what these people say is true, then we should show them some hospitality!"

"Sorry father," Gashiun muttered.

Beside Ellie, Toph's blind eyes narrowed.

"I recognized the son's voice," she said quietly.

Ellie looked at her in surprise.

"You sure?" Katara asked even quieter.

"I never forget a voice," Toph replied, and Ellie didn't doubt it. Hearing was the only main, natural sense Toph had to rely on in order to figure out what was going on around her.

"You stole Appa!" Aang suddenly accused the younger man, pointing his staff at him. "Where is he? What did you do with him?"

"They're lying!" the young man retorted. " _They're_ the thieves!"

With a shout of anger, Aang sent blast of air, destroying on of their sand-sailers.

"Where is my bison?" he growled.

OA

Zuko listened intently to the voices around him. To escape from the shop, he and Iroh had hidden in two-large flower pots. It was dark and cramped, and the jar jostled a great deal as the cart they were on rolled over bumps and ruts in the ground. Slowly, the sounds of the village quieted down to the steady creaking of the cart's wheels.

Once safely out of the village, Zuko and Iroh both lifted the fake flowers to get some fresh air, smirked at each other, and closed them again.

OA

"You tell me where he is, now!" Aang, shouted, destroying another sailer.

"What did you do?" the middle-aged man asked in a voice of exasperation.

"I-it wasn't me!" his son protested.

"You said to put a muzzle on him!" Toph shouted, pointing a finger in the general direction of his voice.

"You muzzled Appa?!" Aang asked, outraged.

Suddenly, his eyes began to glow and the wind whipped around them as he destroyed their last chance of escape.

"I'm sorry!" the young man pleaded. "I didn't know it belonged to the Avatar!"

"Tell me where Appa is," Aang commanded, pointing his staff at the man's chest as his voice echoed along with hundreds of others.

"I-I traded him with some merchants!" he quickly replied. "He'll probably be in Ba Sing Se. They were planning on selling him there. Please! We'll escort you out of the desert! We'll help in any way we can!"

"Just get out of here!" Sokka shouted as Aang rose into the air, a ball of wind speeding around him. "Run!"

The sandbenders didn't need to be told twice, and they ran the opposite direction. Sokka grabbed Toph and pulled her out of Aang's sandstorm and Ellie followed. They peered through the flying sand to see Katara and Aang in the center, hugging. Slowly, the glowing went away, and as they sand died down they caught a trickle of tears following down Aang's face.

* * *

 **Ellie, as you would expect, is having some trouble adjusting to the thought that there is a dark spirit inside her. Aang is all angsty because his friend is gone. But up next: The Serpent's Pass (aka How to Save Time Efficiently). We will pull all of their butts out of their angst! R &R!**

 **~LittleMissMycroft**


	23. Part 2: How to Save Time Efficiently

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: the Last Airbender**

* * *

 **Chapter Eleven: How to Save Time Efficiently**

Ellie was very glad at the first sign of water after the desert. It was a good sized pond with a waterfall and a stream—the perfect size for swimming. It seemed that the others had the same view as her, so they stopped and took a break, swimming in the pond. Aang floated on his back, encased in ice, Katara and Ellie had a splashing fight that involved lots of squealing and waterbending, and even Toph was cooling her feet in the water. The only person who wasn't enjoying the water was Sokka, who was bending over a collection of maps he had taken from the Spirit Library.

"What are you doing?" Ellie asked after climbing out of the water as she leaned over Sokka, dripping.

"Careful!" Sokka exclaimed, snatching up the scroll and clutching it to his chest. "You're dripping!"

Ellie rolled her eyes.

"Anyway," she said. "We're taking a _break_. Why are you still poring over those maps?"

"To save time," Sokka replied curtly. "This way we can leave as soon as possible once _you_ people are done here."

Ellie opened her mouth to retort but was interrupted by a cry of, "Waterbending bomb! Yeah!"

She turned to see Katara plummeting off of the waterfall to the pond below. She landed with a great splash, which completely soaked Sokka.

"Sure!" Sokka sniped, attempting to wring out the scroll. "Five thousand-year-old maps from the Spirit Library. Let's just splash some water on them."

"Sorry!" Katara replied, wringing out her hair.

Sokka continued to grumble about how unappreciative waterbenders were, etc., etc. and Katara rolled her eyes before shifting into a waterbending stance and pulling the water out of the scrolls.

"So did you figure out what route we're going to take to Ba Sing Se?" Aang asked.

"Okay," Sokka replied, laying the map back out, "we just got out of the desert, so we must be around here," he pointed to a small body of water that was just north of the Si Wong Desert. "And we need to go to Ba Sing Se, which is here." He pointed to the large city. "It looks like the only passage connecting the south to the north is this sliver of land called the Serpent's Pass."

"You're sure that's the best way to go?" Toph asked skeptically, knowing all too well how well some of Sokka's plans turn out.

"It's the _only_ way to go," Sokka emphasized. "I mean, it's not like we have Appa to fly us there."

"Shush up about Appa!" Katara scolded quietly. "Can't you at least try to be sensitive?"

They all turned to look at Aang.

"Katara, I'm okay," Aang replied coldly. "I know I was upset about losing Appa before, but I just want to focus on getting to Ba Sing Se and telling the Earth King about the solar eclipse."

"Oh," Katara replied, looking slightly surprised. "well, okay…I'm glad you're doing better."

"Then to Ba Sing Se we go!" Sokka said chipperly, rolling his scrolls back up and stowing them in his bag. "No more distractions!"

"Hello there, fellow refugees!"

"Perfect," Ellie grumbled as the others turned to see a man and a pregnant woman.

They paused and watched as the couple came up the path toward them. When they had finally reached the teens, Aang asked, "So are you guys headed to Ba Sing Se, too?"

"Sure are," he man replied. "We're trying to make it to Ba Sing Se before my wife, Ying, has her baby."

"Great!" Katara replied. "We can travel through the Serpent's Pass together."

"The Serpent's Pass?" Ying gasped. "Only the truly desperate take that deadly route."

"Deadly route?" Toph asked. "Great pick Sokka!" she finished sarcastically, punching Sokka in the shoulder.

"Well, we are desperate," Sokka replied, rubbing his arm.

"You should come to Full Moon Bay with us," the man suggested. "Ferries take refugees across the lake. It's the fastest way to the city."

"And it's hidden," Ying added, "so the Fire Nation can't find it."

"Hmmm…" Katara mused. "Peaceful ferry ride or deadly pass?"

OA

"I can't believe how many people's lives have been uprooted by the Fire Nation," Katara muttered, looking around at the people that were sitting around Full Moon Bay, waiting for their ferries to take them to the big city.

"We're all looking for a better life," the man told them, "safe behind the walls of Ba Sing Se."

OA

"Who would've thought that after all these years I'm returning to the scene of my greatest defeat," Iroh said, looking out over the waters of the lake as their ferry set to motion, "as a tourist!"

"Look around," Zuko muttered. "We're not tourists. We're refugees."

He took a sip from his bowl and promptly pat it out.

"Ugh!" he exclaimed. "I'm sick of eating rotten food, sleeping in the dirt. I'm tired of living like this."

"Aren't we all?" a voice asked behind them.

They both turned and Zuko nearly bashed his head on the wall—he needed to be more careful. It seemed there were eyes _everywhere_.

Standing behind them was a lanky boy with messy hair and a piece of straw jutting from his lip. He was leaning against the nearest post, half hidden in shadow. At seeing that he had gotten their attention, he stepped into the light and said, "My name's Jet and these are my freedom fighters," he gestured to two individuals that were standing beside him. "Smellerbee and Longshot."

"Hey," one of them said in a scratchy voice. She had messy hair that went to her eyes and a headband across her forehead. If Zuko hadn't spent so much time with Ellie before the North Pole, he might have guessed that she was a guy. However, she was given away by her slight form, which still possessed the right curves for her gender.

The one beside her, a boy with a hat and a bow, nodded silently.

"Hello," Zuko replied curtly.

"Here's the deal," Jet said, obviously mistaking his response as an invitation to talk. "I hear the captain's eating like a king while the refugees have to feed off his scraps. Doesn't seem fair, does it?"

"What kind of king is he eating like?" Zuko's uncle asked pitifully.

"The fat, happy kind," Jet replied.

Iroh's mouth watered.

Zuko looked down into his bowl of slop and then out into the open water. Without second thought, the disgraced prince chucked his bowl into the bay and growled, "I'm in."

Jet's smile twitched up at the right corner into a smirk.

OA

Ellie gazed around in boredom as the man in front of them in line was getting a long lecture about how one cabbage could destroy Ba Sing Se's ecosystem. The three team of happy-go-lucky-nincompoops were chatting happily, Toph was staring blindly into the distance (probably regretting her life choices as this would be the first time she had been in a big city since Gaoling), leaving Ellie to survey their surroundings. There were a great number of people that were all looking for a better life.

Suddenly, all of their attentions were brought back as the woman at the desk shouted, "Next!"

They all looked at Aang, who stepped forward nervously.

"Uh," he started, gulping at the sight of the formidable face of the customs officer. "Five tickets to Ba Sing Se, please!"

"Passport?" the woman asked.

Aang froze.

"Uh, I didn't…I didn't know we needed passports," he muttered.

"Do you know where a person can _get_ passports in the Earth Kingdom?" Ellie asked Katara quietly.

Katara shrugged.

"Do you know who were traveling with?" Sokka asked. "The Avatar!"

 _Avatars_ , Ellie mentally corrected, but it was not a known fact that there were two.

"Bah," the woman said dismissively, "I see fifty Avatars a day and, by the way, not a very impressive costume."

She gestured to a group of people that were wearing bald caps; horridly colored, artificial robes; and a mixture of staffs and gliders. Ellie laughed—some of them were two feet taller and a hundred pounds larger than Aang.

"Besides," the woman added, "No animals allowed. Do I need to call security?"

They all looked over at a Security Platypus-Bear as it squashed an entire cabbage in its mouth.

"That won't be necessary," Aang said, ducking away from the desk.

"Let me handle this," Ellie said. "I've got an idea."

After conversing with the others about her plan briefly, she stepped forward.

"You think that my friend here is an imposter of the Avatar?" she said to the lady, who looked at her innocent smile warily. "You're all wrong. That's not what the Avatar looks like."

She picked up the woman's papers with airbending and gently replaced them before waterbending a stream of water out of her pouch. Then, after she replaced the water, she smiled and exclaimed, "Ta-da!"

"The Avatar!" the woman exclaimed, bowing low. "It is an honor!"

"So is it possible for a few free tickets?" she asked.

"Well, you are really supposed to have a passport to get in," she hesitated, "but for you, I think I can arrange a free ticket."

"And my friends?" Ellie asked, silently hoping she wasn't pushing it too much.

"No," the woman suddenly said. "One ticket."

She stamped the ticket and handed it to her.

Ellie accepted it and joined the group, looking slightly disappointed her plan hadn't worked

"My turn!" Toph said, pushing past Ellie and walking up to the desk (which was noticeably higher than her head).

She pulled a green slip of paper out of her pocket and slid it onto the desk.

"My name is Toph Beifong and I need four tickets to Ba Sing Se please," she said.

The woman gazed, open mouth at the passport. A seal flashed up at her.

"The golden seal of the flying boar!" the woman gasped. "It is my pleasure to help anyone of the Beifong family."

"It _is_ your pleasure," Toph replied, concealing a grin. "As you can see, I am blind and these three imbeciles are my valets."

Toph waved a hand in the general direction of Aang, Sokka, and Katara.

"But the animal—" the woman hesitated, eyeing Momo.

"Is my seeing eye lemur," Toph added.

The woman hesitated, looking down at the passport.

"Well, normally it's only one ticket per passport," she muttered, "but this document's so official…I guess it's worth four tickets."

She stamped off four tickets and handed them to Toph, who walked past Ellie, waving the tickets smugly.

"So apparently," Ellie muttered to Katara, "The Beifong family holds much more weight in the Earth Kingdom than the Avatar."

Katara laughed.

"All right, we scammed that lady good!" Sokka exclaimed as they got out of earshot. Katara rolled her eyes and Ellie shook her head.

The two girls walked briskly past him and started conversing with Aang and Toph. Meanwhile, a black-gloved hand grabbed the back of Sokka's shirt, pulling him to a stop.

"Tickets and passports, please," the owner of the hand demanded.

"Is there a problem?" Sokka asked, bewildered at her slightly aggressive tone.

"Yeah, I've got a problem with you," the girl retorted. "I've seen your type before. Probably sarcastic, think you're hilarious and let me guess, you're traveling with the Avatar."

It was at this point that the others realized that Sokka was no longer behind them. Glancing around, the saw him talking to a female security guard and hastened to regroup with him.

"Do I know you?" Sokka was asking.

"You mean you don't remember me?" the girl asked. Sokka wracked his brain, feeling like the girl's name was on the tip of his tongue. "Maybe you'll remember this."

She leaned forward and kissed him on the cheek.

"Suki!" Sokka exclaimed, the word jumping from his mouth the instant he recalled it.

"Sokka it's good to see you!" she exclaimed.

Ellie and the others finally sidled up to Sokka. Katara and Aang both looked mildly pleased at the sight of Suki, and Toph looked confused. Ellie had a fleeting memory of a swarm of Kyoshi Warriors surrounded Zuko's men, Zuko going toe to toe with Suki, while Ellie herself observed the fight from the top of a roof.

"Suki!" Katara exclaimed, her face lit up with happy surprise.

"How long have you been here?" Aang asked curiously.

"Probably a few months," Suki said, leading the three happy-go-lucky squad away to talk.

Ellie stood rooted to the spot, watching them. Toph hesitated when she saw that Ellie was not coming, but the blonde urged her on—it was nothing personal: she simply believed that the friends would love to catch up with Suki without her there. Ellie was currently wondering how an introduction would go.

" _Suki, this is our friend Ellie. She's another Avatar. Ellie, this is Suki, we helped save her village from Zuko."_

" _Yeah, I was there disguised as a Fire Nation soldier so that Zuko wouldn't bite my head off for sneaking away.."_

 _Awkward silence._

No, Ellie shook her head. It was best that she stay out of their happiness for the time being. She turned and gazed about the station, deciding to go and lean against the nearest wall for the time being.

OA

"You look so different without your makeup!" Katara exclaimed. "And your new outfit."

"That crabby lady makes all the security guards wear them," Suki replied with a smile, leaning against the railing that overlooked the bay, which glistened in the sun. "And look at you, sleeveless guy. Been working out?"

"Ahh, I'll grab a branch or two and do a few chin ups now and then," Sokka replied, swinging his arm like a windmill before patting it lightly.

"Are the other Kyoshi Warriors around?" Aang asked.

"Yeah," Suki replied. "After you left Kyoshi, we wanted to find a way to help people. We ended up escorting refugees and have been here since."

OA

The first thing Ellie noticed was that she had parked herself right in front of the couple with the pregnant lady. She sat, leaning against the wall, watching them mostly because she had nothing better to do. She glanced around and her eyes settled on a few other people, her eyes resting on the ticket counter for a few seconds before returning before the couple before her.

Suddenly, there was a black flash and the woman began crying out.

"Thief! Help! Someone please help!"

Ellie, without even thinking, darted forward after the dark figure and shouted, "Hey!"

They turned around and Ellie saw that they were wearing all black with messy hair sticking out in every which way. The thief had a very young face and bright eyes. Ellie and the thief stopped for just a split second before the figure was off again, weaving through the crowd.

"You're not getting away!" Ellie growled, dashing after him.

She too began to weave through the crowd, slipping past people like a shadow. Suddenly they reached an open space where they weren't surrounded by people. Ellie, seeing her opportunity bent water out of her pouch, grabbed the thief by the ankle, and threw him to the ground.

OA

"I'm fine," Aang said with a firm resolve. "Would everyone stop worrying about me?"

The pitying glances were cut short by the sound of a pleading voice.

"Avatar Aang," the woman from earlier called. "You've got to help us. Someone took all our belongings. Our passports, our tickets, everything's gone!" she let out a sob and her husband comforted her.

Aang hopped down onto the ground and the others ran to follow him. His eyes scoped the room where he saw Ellie sparring with a darkly dressed figure with spiky hair. He whipped out his glider and flew over towards them. There he landed, whipping his glider closed and pointing it at the thief.

He airbent a large gust of air that forced the thief down to the ground.

"Where are they?" he asked angrily, growling slightly.

The thief's olive eyes widened.

"The tickets," Aang continued. "Where are they?"

Not receiving an answer, Aang growled and took a step closer, still pointing the staff at the boy's face. The boy in question scrambled back slightly, pulling two slips of paper out of his shirt.

"Here!" he cried. "Here they are. Just please don't hurt me!"

The tickets floated to the ground.

"Couldn't you tell that you were robbing a pregnant woman?" Aang continued raging. Ellie stood and stared at him in shock. She had never seen him get so angry at a single person the entire time she had been traveling with him. This wasn't the annoyance that twinged Aang's demeanor when he was angry with her—it was sheer anger.

He raised his staff to strike but, surprisingly, a hand stopped it. Aang stopped and looked at Ellie in shock. Calm yellow-and-green orbs met his gaze.

"Stop," she said. "This isn't you."

Aang slowly lowered the staff.

"No," he finally said, letting out a sigh. "I was letting my anger get away from me."

"I understand," Ellie said softly. "Since Appa was stolen from you, you want to take your anger out on this thief. I know you're angry and I know you're hurt, but there's no reason to punish someone for something they didn't do. Especially someone that is desperate enough to steal tickets so that he can make it to Ba Sing Se. It's perfectly normal to feel anger, you just need to control it and to remember to let yourself grieve and move on."

Aang sighed.

"You're right," he muttered, turning away.

Ellie picked up the tickets, turned to where the others were standing behind them, watching in shock, and handed them to the couple. Then, she turned back to the thief.

"And for your sake I hope we never see you again," she said in a hardened tone.

The thief nodded and scrambled away.

"Now come on," she said, walking past the others. "We have a boat to catch."

* * *

 **This one's short, but it's a product of what happens when I get bored and decide I haven't been changing enough of the story in my chapters. I'm sorry I haven't posted in a while. School's started going crazy once finals got nearer, but guess what! I'm off for the summer and here to write for you all! Next up is The Drill. And then they actually enter Ba Sing Se. R &R**

 **~LittleMissMycroft**


	24. Part 2: Close Calls

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: the Last Airbender**

* * *

 **Chapter Twelve: Close Calls**

They arrived in the station at Ba Sing Se and were in line for tickets to the inner part of the city when the walls began shaking and people began screaming.

"Don't worry," the man in charge began shouting. "That is only the noise of the trains. Everything is perfectly in order."

The screaming quieted down but Toph crossed her arms and regarded the man suspiciously, saying, "He was lying."

"But if he was lying," Katara said. "What was that shaking?"

They all ran out of the station into the green pastures beyond. Toph and Aang earthbended the ground they were standing on up the wall in a sort of make-shift elevator. Once they reached the top, they all stopped short at the sight of a giant metal contraption—a drill—only a hundred yards or so from the great outer wall of the city.

"What are you doing up here?" a solder asked suddenly, rushing over towards them. "Civilians aren't allowed on the wall!"

"I'm the Avatar," Aang replied, his staff in hand.

The man faltered.

"Take me to whoever's in charge," Aang commanded.

OA

"It is an honor to welcome the young Avatar to the outer wall," the General of Ba Sing Se was saying, "but your help is not needed."

"Not needed?" Aang repeated incredulously, remembering the sight of the giant metal drill crawling its way toward the city.

" _Not_ needed," the man replied. "I have the situation under control. I assure you the Fire Nation cannot penetrate this wall. Many have tried to break through it, but none have succeeded."

"What about the Dragon of the West?" Toph asked. Ellie smirked. "He got in."

"Well," the men started, taken slightly aback. "…uh, technically yes, but he was quickly expunged. Nevertheless that is why the city is named Ba Sing Se. It's the 'impenetrable city'. They don't call it Na Sing Se," he laughed nervously. "That means 'penetrable city.'"

"Yeah, thanks for the tour," Toph responded sarcastically, "but we still got the drill problem."

"Not for long," the general responded confidently. "To stop it, I've sent an elite platoon of earthbenders called the Terra Team."

"That's a good group name," Sokka assessed. "Very catchy."

"Oh, good grief," Ellie groaned in exasperation, knowing this was going to be a very long day.

She turned to look out over the wall, watching as the earthbenders tried to stop the drill using pillars to hold it in place, which were soon crushed as the metal expanded. Two small figures raced down the side of the machine and they all watched as each of the men fell like dominoes.

"We're doomed!" the general cried, looking away from the telescope he had been observing the scene through.

"Pull yourself together, man!" Sokka exclaimed, smacking him in the face.

Ellie was sorely tempted to do the same—it wasn't every day that one got to smack a foreign general.

"Maybe you'd like the Avatars' help _now_?" Toph asked.

The general bowed his head and clasped his hands together pleadingly, saying in a meek tone, "Yes, please."

"So how do we take this thing down?" Aang asked.

He and Katara looked to Sokka, who's eyes widened indignantly.

"Why are you looking at me?"

"You are the idea guy," Toph supplied.

There was a pause.

"We need to take it down from the inside," Ellie said dramatically, causing the others to look at her in surprise.

"What?" she asked. "Did I not do the Sokka voice right?"

OA

Meanwhile Iroh and Zuko had already gotten their monorail tickets and were going through security to get into the city. At this point they were facing a very crabby lady who was checking over their tickets.

"So, Mr. Lee and Mr. ummmm…Mushy, is it?" the crabby lady asked.

"It's pronounced Moo-shee," Iroh corrected.

"Are you telling me how to do my job?" the woman asked menacingly.

"No, no," Iroh differed quickly. "But may I just say you're like a flower in bloom. Your beauty is intoxicating."

"You're pretty easy on the eyes yourself, handsome. Rawr! Welcome to Ba Sing Se," and she stamped their tickets.

Zuko snatched his up off the counter and shot his uncle a disgusted look as they walked away, growling, "I'm gonna forget I saw that."

OA

"Once I whip up some cover, you're not going to be able to see me," Toph was saying. The five of them were standing down on the ground, prepared to intercept the drill. "So, stay close to me."

She stepped outside the trench they were standing in and stomped her foot, sending a mass of debris flying into the air, kicking up a very large cloud of dust.

"Run!" she shouted, and they raced after her into the dust cloud.

They followed Toph through the dust until they had reached the side of the drill. There, Toph earthbended a the ground, opening a square hole and leaping into it.

"It's so dark in here, I can't see a thing," Sokka complained.

"Oh, no!" Toph responded sarcastically. "What a nightmare!"

"Sorry."

When they came out, Ellie looked around to see that they were now underneath the drill. Just above them there was an open hatch and a bar.

"There!" Sokka exclaimed, pointing to the opening into the drill.

Aang leapt up and hung down from the bar, gripping it with his legs while he pulled Sokka, Katara, and Ellie inside. He lowered once more, offering his hands to Toph, who did not take them. Sokka peeked down to see what's was holding them.

"Toph, come on!" he said.

"No way am I going inside that metal monster," she retorted.. "I can't bend in there. I'll try to slow it down out here."

"Okay, good luck!" he relented, disappearing inside the metal contraption with Aang.

Toph shifted into an earthbending form and jabbed her arms up, producing a large wedge of earth that extended from the ground into the metal above her. She tried holding it in place, but soon found herself being pushed back as the drill moved forward.

OA

"I need a plan of this machine," Sokka said as the others followed him deeper into the drill. "Some schematics that show what the inside looks like. Then we can find its weak points."

"Where are we gonna get something like that?" Aang asked as Sokka reached down to the hilt of his machete.

He drew it out and hit a valve, popping it open. As steam began to fill the passageway, Aang exclaimed, "What are you doing? Someone's gonna hear us!"

"That's the point," Sokka replied. "I figure a machine this big needs engineers to run it. And when something breaks—"

"Someone comes to fix it!" Katara finished for him.

They quickly formulated a plan, and Ellie helped bend the steam out of the valve, filling up the walkway completely and even making sure some spilled out onto other portions of the drill. Once they determined it was good enough, she backed against the wall standing in between pipes with Aang and Sokka. Katara stood on the other side and they began to wait.

It wasn't long before an engineer arrived, walking through the passageway and trying to find the source of the leak. Katara slipped in behind him and he turned in surprise. Quickly, she froze the steam around him, holding him in place.

"Hi," she said.

Sokka ran forward and grabbed a map out of his left hand.

"This'll work," he said. "Thanks!"

Ellie, Aang, and Katara dashed after him and up a staircase, where they stopped to look at the map. Katara bent the water out of it and Sokka opened it.

"It looks like the drill is made up of two main structures," Sokka observed. "There's the inner mechanism where we are now and the outer shell. The inner part and the outer part are connected by these braces. If we cut through them, the entire thing will collapse!"

"Yeah but we don't have that much time," Ellie added quickly. "You saw the drill before we came in here. It's only feet from the wall."

"So how do we cut through them in time?" Katara asked.

"You know," Ellie said to Aang, nudging him.

"I do?" he asked in return.

Ellie sighed, "Toph has been teaching you not to focus your attack in one spot, right?"

Aang's eyes widened in realization.

"That's right!" he exclaimed. "Toph has been teaching me that you shouldn't give one hundred percent of your energy into any one strike. Sokka, take a fighting stance." Sokka did as he was told and took a meagre fighting stance. Ellie grimaced. "You've got to be quick and accurate. Hit a series of points and break your opponent's stance—" he hit Sokka with a series of jabs that sent him lurching backwards, his arms doing a windmill motion. "—And when he's reeling back, you deliver the final blow." He hit Sokka softly on the head and the older boy slumped to the ground. "His own weight becomes his downfall. Literally."

"So, what, we just need to cut hallway through each of the braces?" Katara asked.

"Sounds good to me," Ellie replied.

"And then I'll go to the top to deliver the final blow," Aang finished.

OA

Zuko and Iroh sat on a bench in the station at Ba Sing Se. Suddenly a familiar teenage boy walked over to where they sat. He had been on the boat with them and had been helped by Zuko to get food. Now the boy—Jet—seemed to have taking a liking to the banished prince, a thing Zuko loathed.

"So," Jet said smoothly as he sauntered over and sat, leaning against the pillar beside Zuko. "Got any plans once you're inside the city?"

"Get your hot tea here!" a vendor called nearby. "Finest tea in Ba Sing Se!"

Iroh waved a hand eagerly, saying, "Ooh, Jasmine please!"

The vendor came over and poured the liquid into a green cup that Iroh held out. The old man smiled at it for a second and then took a sip as the tea cart rolled away. He promptly spat it back out.

"Yuck!" he exclaimed. "More like the coldest tea in Ba Sing Se! What a disgrace!"

Jet nodded to Zuko, standing up. With a sigh, the firebender reluctantly followed.

"You and I have a much better chance of making it in the city if we stick together," Jet commented. "You want to join the Freedom Fighters?"

"Thanks," Zuko said, "but I don't think you want me in your gang."

"Come on," Jet pleaded. "We made a great team looting that captain's food. Think of all the good we could do for these refugees."

"I said no," Zuko declined firmly, walking away.

"Have it your way," Jet replied coldly.

Zuko glanced back at what he said just in time to catch his eyes widening and let his gaze slide over to where Iroh was happily blowing steam off of a now hot cup of tea. He rushed forward and angrily knocked the cup out of his uncle's hand.

"Hey!" Iroh exclaimed.

"What are you doing firebending your tea?" Zuko whispered through gritted teeth. "For a wise old man that was a pretty stupid move."

"I know you're not supposed to cry over spilled tea," Iroh choked in an unhappy tone, "but it's just so sad."

OA

"Wow it looks a lot thicker in person than it does in the plans."

Ellie noted that for once Sokka made a correct observation. The brace that stood before them was at least four people wide on each face. It had a lip to one side and connected seamlessly to the beam that they stood on. The size of the beams made Ellie feel dwarfed in comparison.

"We're gonna have to work pretty hard to cut through even half of that," Sokka continued.

"What's this 'we' stuff?" Katara asked, turning back to look at him. "Ellie, Aang, and I are going to have to do all the work."

"Look, I'm the plan guy. You three—" he began to make rapid chop gestures "—are the cut stuff up with waterbending guys. Together, we're Team Avatar!"

Ellie rolled her eyes. Katara and Aang shared looks of incredulity. Aang then shook his head, flicked his glider open, and flew around the brace to stand on the other side of it. Katara opened her pouch and she and Aang bent the water back and forth, cutting through the lip on the pillar. It took a minute or so to get to the actual beam, and another few after that to cut through halfway.

Then just as Aang flew back around to the other side, there was a loud groan of metal and a voice could be heard through the intercom system.

"Congratulations, crew," it said. "The drill has made contact with the wall of Ba Sing Se. Start the countdown to victory!"

"We've better get moving to the next one!" Ellie said, and they ran to do just that.

So in that fashion, they went around to each of the braces, cutting halfway through. Sometimes it was Katara and Aang doing the waterbending, sometimes it was Ellie and Aang, and every now and then Aang would fly one of the girls across so he could get a break. All the time Sokka kept up a relentless tirade of chattering.

"Good work, Team Avatar," Sokka said. They were almost done with the very last pillar. "Now you just need to—" he cut off as a blast of blue fire hurtled towards them. "Duck!"

Ellie turned to see Azula shoot another blast straight at Aang's head. With a shout of fright, Aang ducked. She and her two friends were standing on a beam adjacent to theirs.

"Wow, Azula, you were right!" Ty Lee exclaimed. "It is the Avatar! And friends."

Ellie rolled her eyes as Sokka raised a hand in greeting. Katara grabbed his hand and the three of them hurried towards the door way. Azula and Mai went to intercept them while Ty Lee flipped under the brace, heading straight for Aang. The Avatar blew a gust of wind to stop her, buffeting her back against the opposite pillar, where she quickly flipped around to where she wouldn't fall. Aang flew on his glider until he caught up to the others in the hallway, snapped it closed, and ran after them.

Katara, Sokka, and Ellie hung a left at the next hallway, but Aang ran in the opposite direction, stopping briefly to address them.

"Guys, get out of here!" he exclaimed. "I know what I need to do!"

"Wait!" Ellie cried. "I'm coming with you! You'll need someone to watch your back."

Not having time to argue, Aang simply nodded and dashed off with Ellie hot on his heels. The Water Tribe siblings set off in the opposite direction. Seconds later, Azula had reached the turn.

"Follow them," she instructed, pointing after Katara and Sokka. "The Avatars are mine."

And she went off after Ellie and Aang.

Sokka and Katara came to a dead-end. A giant pipe ran along the wall. In the center was a large hatch with a small ladder leading up to it. Katara and Sokka rushed over to it—it was their only way out. As Sokka began trying to turn it, Katara asked, "Slurry pipeline, what does that mean?"

Sokka pulled the hatch open and looked down into the muddy water that rushed by below them.

"It's rock and water mixed together," he observed. "It means our way out."

Mai and Ty Lee ran up to them just in time to see the two teens lower themselves into the pipeline. Mai threw daggers at them but missed as Sokka's head disappeared. She and Ty Lee looked down into the mud below.

"Ugh," Mai muttered. "Disgusting."

"Come on, you heard Azula. We have to follow them," Ty Lee scolded.

"She can shoot all the lightning she wants at me. I am _not_ going in that wall sludge juice."

Mai shuddered.

Ty Lee shook her head and dropped into the hole. With one final face, Mai closed the hatch.

Katara and Sokka came tumbling out of the end of the drill, sliding slightly in the mud. They looked up to see Ty Lee riding the torrent after them with a wide grin on her face. Hurriedly, Katara bent the mud up into the hole with Ty Lee trapped inside.

"Keep it up!" Sokka exclaimed. "The pressure will keep building up in the drill. Then when Aang delivers the final blow it'll be ready to pop!"

OA

Aang and Ellie ran through the drill, using airbending to move as fast as possible. They zipped up a ladder and then went through a trap door at the top. Ellie blinked as she found herself suddenly standing in the sunlight again. They grinned at each other and ran forward to where the drill met the wall of the city.

"This looks like a good spot," Aang suggested.

Ellie nodded.

They both then jumped in opposite directions as a rock came hurtling down. It landed and bounced off the metal, not even leaving a dent. Rock after rock fell, and the two benders scrambled to avoid them.

"General Sung!" Aang called up the wall. "Tell your men to stop shooting rocks down here!"

Ellie heard a feeble voice shout, "Men! Whatever you do, don't stop shooting rocks down there!"

As another volley came hurtling down, Aang came to a spot that had been so far relatively rock free and Ellie tossed him her water skin pouch. He bent water out of it and began hacking an x-shaped slit into the top of the drill.

OA

"Good technique, little sister! Keep it up! Don't forget to breathe!"

Without even turning to her brother, Katara shouted, "You know, I'm just about sick and tired of you telling me what to do all day! You're like a chattering hogmonkey!"

"Just bend the slurry, woman!"

Katara used her free hand to bend the slurry around Sokka, knocking him over. Just as he began to stand up, a voice came from ahead of them.

"You guy's need some help?"

"Toph! Help me plug up this drain!"

Toph came to a halt beside the waterbender, planted her feet firmly in the ground, and began bending the slurry Katara was already holding in place further up in the pipeline. Ty Lee disappeared from view with a shriek and the drill groaned.

Up on top of the drill, slurry began spurting out of the crack between the wall and the top of the drill. Aang was still standing there, creating a gash in the drill's thick outer shell. Ellie stood in front of him, facing the rest of the drill. She held her hands in front of her chest in a defensive firebending stance, waiting for someone to show up to stop them.

Ellie didn't have to wait long. She saw the blue fire hurtling towards her before she ever saw the caster. The girl didn't have to clear the fire out of her way to know that Azula had arrived. The princess met her in a similar stance and the two stood there, eyeing each other. Aang glanced up before resuming his slashing at an even quicker pace.

At this, Azula shot two identical blue fires out of her fingertips, and Ellie quickly directed them away, sending out an orange blast of her own. Azula shot with her feet next, intending to sweep Ellie off her feet. The girl, prepared for this, used a blast of air to propel herself into the air and another one to simultaneously pull Aang out of the way. The boy let out a surprised shout and hopped over her head, coming down to extinguish Azula's next round with a whip of water.

The two sparred forward second, Aang whipping her wrist every time she tried to shoot from a new position. Ellie landed, skittered to the side, and shot a large fireball using both of her palms. Azula ducked under it and sent two successive blasts at Aang, who tried using the water to quell the fire, but the shock of the blow on his shield sent him flying back a few paces.

Azula was forced to halt as another rock slammed down in between them, fracturing from its fall. Aang used the rubble to form a shield of earth and Ellie darted behind him, drawing water out of the air to continue the slashing while he fought. The girl heard a shout of rage from Azula and was forced to duck as a blue fireball zipped over her head. While she was still plastered to the top of the drill, there was a loud crash and Aang was knocked back into the wall by a pile of debris that was burning blue.

Ellie shouted in alarm as he slumped down, unconscious. She hopped to her feet, but both of them jolted as the drill extended further into the wall. Ellie sent the water she was still holding towards the princess with as much strength as she could muster and spared no time in grabbing Aang out from under the wall.

The girl dragged him forward a bit and turned to see that Azula slid backwards several yards. Ellie quickly took up a stance as Azula came running towards her. Then suddenly a giant wave of slurry burst out, washing over Ellie and spilling down the sides of the drill. Caught off-kilter, Azula slipped and slid on the mud, running straight into Ellie, and the two of them bounced off the wall. They slid in opposite directions and Ellie began to panic as she found herself falling headfirst over the side of the drill at alarming speeds.

Then suddenly Aang appeared over the side, flying on his glider. He swooped below her and she dropped on top of it as he flew back up to the spot where they had etched an x into the metal. With the added weight of Ellie, they crashed onto the top of the drill with identical "oof's". Ellie slid off of the glider and Aang snapped it closed.

"Thanks," she muttered as he ran back to the x.

"Now all I need is—" he was cut off as a rock crashed down right in front of him. "Actually that is what I needed for once."

He bent the rock right on top of the x and then began slicing it until it was perfectly wedge shaped, pointing down into the center of the x. Ellie watched as he backed up and bent down, looking much like a racer would just before they took off to run, placing his hands on the ground before him. Then he was off running. Halfway to the wall, he created a ball of air underneath him and hopped on top.

Ellie watched in awe, knowing that this was what she had to live up to as an airbender, as the ball of air glided smoothly from the surface of the drill to the wall itself and Aang rode atop it until he was at least halfway up the wall. The ball dissolved beneath him and his momentum slowed slightly as he began jogging up the wall. As soon as he felt gravity take effect, he gave a shout, turned around, and ran down the length of the wall faster than the wind.

Ellie gave a shout and prepared to fight as Azula came up on top of the drill. Just then Aang dropped away from the wall, landing on the wedge and driving it in. Both Azula and Ellie were blasted backwards. The princess let out a cry of fright, but Ellie quickly flipped over her head and landed on her feet with a wobble. Inside the drill, each brace broke clean through as slurry water flooding the space between the inner mechanism and the outer shell.

"Here it comes!" Toph cried.

There were five explosions of slurry down the drill at the end of each section and Sokka cheered. Toph stopped holding back the slurry and quickly brought the ground they were standing on up into a pillar. The wall sludge juice was let free and flowed around them, squashing Ty Lee against the pillar they stood on.

The drill cracked and groaned and steam began rising into the air. Slowly, the drill stopped spinning. Aang wiped the slurry off of his face and ran over to help Ellie up. The two Avatars grinned at each other and looked up the wall to see where the earth kingdom general was wiping slurry off of his own shocked face.

After the flow stopped, Ty Lee sat up, spitting the juice out of her mouth. Azula came sliding down the back of the drill, now on her feet once more. She dropped down to the ground, splashing more mud over her friend. She turned to the back of the drill where a hatch opened and Mai's face appeared.

"We lost," she said, leaning against the edge of the hole.

OA

"Last call for Ba Sing Se!" a man called just before the doors of a monorail slid shut.

"Jet, relax!" Smellerbee, one of Jet's friends pleaded. "So the old guy has some hot tea? Big deal?"

"He heated it himself," Jet growled. "Those guys are firebenders."

Another monorail slid to a halt and Jet pulled the rim of his hat down, boarding the monorail after spotting the two firebenders load. Oblivious to what was going on, Iroh sat beside a young couple that looked lovingly down at a newborn baby.

"What a handsome baby," he said politely, smiling down at the little girl.

"Thank you," the woman replied, letting him rub through the baby's blankets with gentle care.

The monorail took off as earthbenders pushed it along. They came out of the tunnel and the setting sun showed brightly overhead.

OA

"I would just like to say," Sokka said, raising his arms as they stood on the wall, overlooking the sunset, "good job today, Team Avatar."

"Enough with the 'Team Avatar' stuff," Katara said. "No matter how many times you say it, it's not going to catch on."

"What about, the BoomerAang Squad? See it's good 'cause it's got Aang in it."

"I kinda like that one," Aang said.

"Team Avatar was better," Ellie called over her shoulder.

"Let's talk about this on our way into the city," Katara suggested, walking away to catch up with the blonde.

"The Aang GAang?"

"Sokka!"

"The Fearsome Fivesome!"

"That just sounds stupid."

"What? We're fearsome!"

* * *

 **Short, simple, and a nice precursor to the crap that goes on within the city itself. Up next: City of Walls and Secrets. Until next time, please R &R!**

 **~LittleMissMycroft**


	25. Part 2: Tour Guide Barbie

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: the Last Airbender**

* * *

 **Chapter Thirteen: Tour Guide Barbie**

The five teens were almost forced to spend the night in the monorail station. They came to get their tickets and found that the monorails had stopped for the night. Luckily, however, word got to the officials and dignitaries of Ba Sing Se that there were two Avatars and both were in the city, and the children found themselves staying in private suites that were located in the outer wall, adjacent to the military dorms.

The next morning they didn't even have to pay for tickets, receiving free ones for the first class train. It was already late morning by the time they found themselves heading for the city itself. The monorail passed over fields and cultivated farms as it made its way to the inner wall.

After about five minutes, Katara glanced out the window and said, "Look! It's the inner wall! I can't believe we've finally made it to Ba Sing Se in one piece."

"Don't jinx it!" Sokka exclaimed. "We can still be attacked by some giant exploding Fire Nation spoon. Or find out the city's been submerged in an ocean full of killer shrimp!"

Ellie raised an eyebrow.

"You been hitting the cactus juice again?" Toph asked jokingly.

"I'm just saying, weird stuff happens to us."

Suddenly a man sucking on an entire cob of corn sat in between the two of them, pushing them both over at least half a foot. Across from them, Ellie snickered. Beside her, Aang, who had been looking out the window, closed in eyes as if in an attempt to drown out their mirth.

"Don't worry Aang," Katara said, "we'll find Appa."

"It's such a big city," Aang muttered doubtfully.

"Oh, come on," Sokka said, jumping to his feet and walking over to their side of the monorail as it neared an archway that went through the wall. "He's a giant bison. Where could someone possibly hide him?"

The four of them looked out the windows as the monorail emerged on the other side of the archway and the entire city came into view. It was even more enormous than any of them had expected.

"Gee, I wonder," Ellie replied sarcastically.

The monorail came to a sliding halt at the next station and the five of them disembarked.

"Back in the city," Toph sighed. "Great."

"What's the problem? It's amazing!" Sokka exclaimed.

"It's just a bunch of walls and rules. You wait, you'll get sick of it in a couple of days."

They turned to see Aang, who faced the city, blowing on the bison whistle.

"I'm coming for ya, buddy," he said softly. Then he turned to the others and said, "He's here; I can feel it."

They turned back around as the monorail took off behind them for its next stop. As it finally passed by, a woman came into view. Other than them, she was the only one still there. She stood on the other side of the tracks and smiled at them with the widest grin Ellie had ever seen in her life.

Without even checking the tracks, the creepy lady crossed them and walked up to the children, her smile never wavering even as she spoke.

"Hello! My name is Joo Dee," she said. "I have been given the great honor of showing the Avatars around Ba Sing Se. And you must be Sokka, Katara, and Toph! Welcome to our wonderful city. Shall we get started?"

"Yes," Sokka replied seriously. "We have information about the Fire Nation army that we need to deliver to the Earth King immediately."

"Great! Let's begin our tour. And then I'll show you to your new home here. I think you'll like it!"

Ellie noticed how the woman said, "new home" as if she expected them to stay in the city indefinitely. It sickened her.

"Maybe you missed what I said," Sokka continued in a slightly annoyed tone. "We need to talk to the king about the war, it's important."

"You're in Ba Sing Se now," Joo Dee replied. "Everyone is safe here."

The five of them exchanged a mixture of confused and annoyed glances as the woman walked off. The others hastened to catch up and she led them out of the station to the street where an ostrich-horse-drawn carriage was waiting for them. They climbed in and the carriage trundled its was up the road.

Ellie looked out the window at the shabby buildings that passed by. The road they were on was narrow and poorly dressed people were forced to jump out of the way as they went by.

"This is the Lower Ring," Joo Dee was saying.

"What's that wall for?" Katara asked, looking at the wall that stood before them. While it was not quite as high as the two outer walls, it was still large enough to prevent people from going through.

"Oh, Ba Sing Se has many walls," came the answer. "There are the ones outside protecting us, and the ones inside, that help maintain order. This is where our newest arrivals live, as well as our craftsmen and artisans, people that work with their hands. It's so quaint and lively!"

Ellie looked out to see a group of men that sat at the edge of a dark alleyway give the carriage dark looks. One held a gleaming sword.

"You do want to watch your step, though," Joo Dee added in an afterthought at the sight of the men.

"Why do they have all these poor people blocked off in one part of the city?" Katara asked.

"This is why I never came here before," Aang explained. "I always heard it was so different from the way the monks taught us to live."

And it was a far cry from the world Ellie came from, whether it was the future of this place or not. There, everyone was equal. Sure there were poor people and rich people, and sometimes the poor people lived in smaller, cheaper neighborhoods, but it was never impossible to leave. The poor ones still got to go and visit places like uptown street malls.

OA

Zuko viewed the street with disgust, marking how much different the shabby life of the Lower Ring was from living as a prince in the Royal Caldera City. Clothes hung on clotheslines above counters of street vendors. Buildings were grey, flat, and run down. People milled all about in the tiny alleyways making him feel crowded and stifled.

He walked down one such street with his arms swinging, fists clenched. His uncle, who had stopped at a stall ten feet back, came running to catch up, holding a large vase of flowers. At the face Zuko made at him, Iroh said, "I just want our place to look nice in case someone brings home a lady friend," nudging Zuko in the side.

Zuko's expression went from grumpy to sullen.

"This city is a prison. I don't want to make a life here."

"Life happens wherever you are, whether you make it or not," the old man replied. "Now come on. I got us some new jobs and we start this afternoon."

Behind them, Jet, Smellerbee, and Longshot came to a halt. Jet made sure to keep his eye on the firebenders.

"Look at them," he said. "Firebenders living under everyone's nose."

"Jet, you saw a man with a hot cup of tea," Smellerbee disagreed, "it doesn't prove he's a firebender. And what if he is? Are we supposed to attack them? I thought we were starting over here, changing our ways."

"We are," Jet replied. "When I get the evidence I need, I'll report them to the police and let them handle it. Okay?"

His two friends exchanged worried glances.

OA

"This is the Middle Ring of Ba Sing Se, home to the financial district, shops and restaurants, and the university," Joo Dee explained as they came on the other side of the third wall.

The five children sat through her prattlings, looking as bored as a teenager could get. Ellie stared out the window. She noticed that these houses were more spaced out with green tiled roofs, gardens, and little bridges that crossed over streams. It almost seemed as though there was more sunlight, a fact that was most likely attributed to the fact that the buildings weren't crammed together like a bunch of disorderly Legos.

"Yeah. We met a professor from the Ba Sing Se University," Sokka replied. "He took us to an ancient underground library where we discovered information about the war that is _absolutely crucial for the king to hear!_ "

Although Sokka was shouting literally in the woman's face, her smile never wavered and instead she said, "Isn't history fascinating? Look, here's one of the oldest towns in the Middle Ring, Town Hall!"

And she stood, exiting the carriage.

"Is that woman deaf?" Sokka asked. "She only seems to hear every other word I say."

"It's called being handled," Toph muttered. "Get used to it."

OA

"Well you certainly look like official tea servers," the owner of a teashop said. "How do you feel?"

"Ridiculous," Zuko muttered.

He was wearing an apron and holding a pot of tea in one hand. Apparently the jobs Iroh had found for them were waiters in a small, shabby teashop. Zuko knew he shouldn't have been surprised by his uncle's choice of occupation.

"Uh, does this possibly come in a larger size?" Iroh asked, attempting to pull the straps of his apron close enough to tie them behind his back.

"We have extra string in the back," the man, Pao, replied. "Have some tea while you wait!"

He poured them both a cup of tea and handed it to them. Zuko looked down at his in trepidation while Iroh eagerly took a loud sip. Again, he promptly spat it out.

"This tea is nothing more than hot leaf juice!" he exclaimed in outrage.

"Uncle, that's what _all_ tea is," Zuko replied in exasperation.

"How could a member of my own family say something so horrible?" Iroh asked to himself out loud. "We'll have to make some major changes around here!"

He snatched the teapot off the table and walked to the front of the shop, dumping its contents out the window. He did not even notice the small gasp that came from outside the window as Jet moved out of the way to avoid being burned.

OA

The Upper Ring seemed to hold, not neighborhoods of houses like the Middle Ring did, but entire estates. Each of the buildings were spread far apart, located on hills and in valleys. There were large man-made ponds and rows of cultivated trees. The houses were also much larger in size, seeming like small manors.

"The Upper Ring is home to our most important citizens," Joo Dee blathered on. "Your house is not far from here!"

Their carriage soon left the rolling green hills and the landscape became flat and the ground was paved with stones. They passed yet another wall, but this one was smaller in length, not stretching as far as the eye could see as the previous ones had. In the center was a large earth symbol in green and yellow roofs of buildings could be seen just beyond it.

"What's inside that wall?" Katara asked curiously.

"And who are the mean-looking guys in robes?" Sokka asked, indicating towards a group of guys that stood in a small cluster. They were indeed wearing long black robes with round hats. Each one had a long braid down his back.

"Inside is the Royal Palace," their guide explained. "Those men are agents of the Dai Li, the cultural authority of Ba Sing Se. They are the guardians of all our traditions."

"Can we see the king now?" Aang asked in a bored tone.

"Oh no," Joo Dee laughed. "One doesn't just pop in on the Earth King!"

Aang nodded sadly, expecting as much.

They went on past the palace and came out in a large neighborhood of houses that were similar to the ones in the Middle Ring. On their way they passed a large shopping district that even had a spa and a large, fancy school.

Finally they came to a stop at a decent sized house.

"Here we are!" Joo Dee exclaimed. "Your new home."

They got out of the carriage and made their way up to the door. The teens were stopped by Joo Dee's voice.

"More good news," she said. "Your request for an audience with the Earth King is being processed and should be put through in a month! Much more quickly than usual."

"A _month?_ " Sokka cried.

"Six to eight weeks actually," their host replied with a grin.

They walked into the house in silence, but as soon as the door closed, Ellie realized that Joo Dee was still there _and_ chattering like a sparrowkeet.

"Are you all right?" Katara asked her quietly. "You've been quiet since we came to the city."

"Yeah," Ellie said glumly. "She just…annoys me."

Correctly guessing that the "she" Ellie referred to was Joo Dee, Katara nodded.

"And there's not much I can say in front of her that I'd like to discuss," Ellie added. She slid a sideways glance at the woman, making sure she was still engaged in her one sided conversation. "She can't exactly be trusted."

"What?" Katara asked. "What do you mean? She looks innocent enough."

"Just watch," Ellie advised.

They turned to back to the others.

"Isn't it nice?" she was asking. "I think you'll really enjoy it here."

"I think we would enjoy it more if we weren't staying for so long," Sokka complained. "Isn't there any way we could see the Earth King sooner?"

"The Earth King is very busy running the finest city in the world! But he will see you as soon as time permits."

"Which means never," Ellie muttered to herself.

Aang turned to look out the window.

"If we're going to be here for a month," he said, "we should spend our time looking for Appa."

Joo Dee bowed, saying, "I'd like to escort you anywhere you'd like to go."

"We don't need a babysitter," Toph protested curtly.

"Oh, I won't get in the way," she smiled widely, stepping out to block Toph's path. "And to leave you alone would make me a bad host!" Toph stepped back in annoyance. "Where shall we start?"

Ellie raised a pointed eyebrow at Katara, who did have to admit that the woman did seem slightly suspicious. Why wouldn't she let them out of her sight? Did she think they would make trouble? With the Avatar? But, nonetheless, the five teenagers found themselves wandering around the city, trailed by an ever-smiling "host".

Katara, as Ellie advised, watched Joo Dee closely. Right away she noticed that any time the black market, stolen goods, or even the war were mentioned, the woman would shake her head slowly, the wide smile still plastered to her face as she stared the person they were interrogating in the eye. After that, they would clam up and either rush away or demand that Team Avatar leave.

Finally, they had made a full circle and no one they asked had any idea as to Appa's whereabouts. Luckily, however, Joo Dee then climbed into another carriage, ready to leave.

"Well, I'm sorry no one has seen your bison," she said from within the carriage. "Why don't you get some rest? Someone will be over with dinner later."

The carriage drove off, and they noticed a man peeking through the window at them from across the street. His head then disappeared and Sokka narrowed his eyes.

"Hey, come with me," Sokka said, gesturing to the house across the street.

They walked across the cobbled road over to the house that stood in front of theirs. Sokka, in the lead, rapped his knuckles against the wood of the front door. It was green and had a round, ornamental window in the center of it. The man's face reappeared in the window once more and he glanced at them quickly before opening the door a crack.

He did not come fully out of the door. Instead, he peeked his head into the crack and smiled. He was old and several teeth were missing, giving him an endearing look. He wore green robes and a hat that matched, sitting atop his grey head.

"You're the Avatar!" he said. "I heard you were in town! I'm Pong."

Aang smiled and replied sincerely, "Nice to meet you, Pong."

Unsmiling, Sokka leaned forward and asked, "So, Pong, what's going on with this city? Why is everyone here so scared to talk about the war?"

"War?" Pong swallowed. His eyes darted around. "Scared? What do you mean?"

"I can feel you shaking," Toph said.

"Look, I'm just a minor government official," Pong explained. He looked around to make sure no one was there to overhear their conversation, now that the dreaded word had been mentioned. "I've waited three years to get this house. I don't want to get into trouble."

"Get into trouble with who?" Katara asked in surprise.

"Shhh," Pong hushed shortly, putting a finger up to his lips. He continued in a lowered voice, "Listen you can't mention the war here. And whatever you do, stay away from the Dai Li."

And he slid the door shut and disappeared from view. The five children looked at each other in confusion.

OA

"Would you like a pot of tea?" Iroh asked.

Zuko, who laid on the futon adjacent to the stove replied in an annoyed tone, "We've been working in a tea shop all day! I'm _sick_ of tea!"

"Sick of tea?" Iroh retorted. "That's like being sick of breathing!"

They both were at the wall against the window, which was open. Just beyond the window, Jet crouched on a roof, watching them with his face half hidden in the shadow of the clothesline that hung in front of him.

"Have you seen our spark rocks to heat up the water?" he called.

"They're not there," Jet muttered quietly, almost to himself. He looked down at where he held the green pieces of stone in his hand. "You're going to have to firebend, old man." Iroh disappeared from view. "Where are you going?"

There was the chink of a door closing and the firebender reappeared.

"I borrowed some from our neighbors," Iroh said happily as he began to strike them together under the teapot. "Such kind people."

Frustrated, Jet ducked behind the clothesline and disappeared.

OA

The next morning the sun dawned bright and the skies were clear. Katara stretched on the front porch with a happy yawn and blinked in the light of the sun. She turned to check the mail and saw a paper rolled up in a cartridge on the left doorpost. She grabbed it, unrolled it and looked at it in curiosity. With a gasp, she ran back inside.

There, the other four were lounging around with bored expressions on their faces. Toph sat on a green cushion, Sokka lay on his back with his feet propped up on the wall, Aang was laying on the banister of the railing that bordered the raised portion of the room, and Ellie lay on her stomach with her face pressed into the cushion behind Toph.

"I got it!" she exclaimed. "I know how we're going to see the Earth King!"

"How are we supposed to do that?" Toph asked in reply. "One doesn't just _pop_ in on the Earth King!"

She had made her voice pompous and squeaky sounding, imitating Joo Dee with a raised finger. Ellie raised her head off the pillow, turning and squinting her eyes at Toph. Katara came to a stop at the top of the steps.

"The king is having a party at the palace tonight for his pet bear," Katara explained.

"You mean, platypus bear?" Aang asked, his hands dangling down to the floor below him.

"No, it just says 'bear'." Katara replied.

"Certainly you mean his pet skunk bear," Sokka said.

"Or armadillo bear," Toph added.

"Just…bear."

"This place is weird," Toph muttered.

Behind her, Ellie turned back and her face flopped down onto the pillow with a loud, "oof!"

"The crowd will be packed!" Katara continued. "We can sneak in with the crowd!"

"Won't work," Toph said, laying back straight on top of Ellie's head.

"Hey!" Ellie screeched, flailing her arms.

Toph sat up enough for Ellie to stand and straighten her black shirt with a sniff. She walked over to stand by Katara.

"Why not?" Katara asked, confused.

"Well, no offense to you simple country folk, but a real society crowd will spot you a mile away. You've got no manners!"

She chose a pastry from a bowl beside her and ate it. To her right, Sokka rolled over onto his stomach, scooching forward and Aang sat up, gauging Katara's reaction.

"Excuse me?" Katara exclaimed. " _I've_ got no manners? You're not exactly 'lady fancy fingers'."

Toph burped.

"I learned proper society behavior and _chose_ to leave it behind." She tossed the rest of the pastry over her shoulder. "You never learned anything. And frankly, it's a little too late."

She picked her nose and flicked the snot off of her finger towards the ceiling.

"You got that right," Ellie muttered, never been one for manners herself. She turned away from them and, since she was slouching, she was shorter than Katara, who stood erect and outraged.

"Aha, but you learned it!" Sokka exclaimed. "You could teach us!"

"Yeah, I'm learning every element," Aang agreed. "How hard could manners be?"

He hopped up off the banister and wrapped himself in the curtain that hung beside it, making a flowing orange robe.

"Good evening, Mr. Sokka Water Tribe, Ms. Katara Water Tribe, Lord Momo of the Momo Dynasty. Your Momo-ness."

Momo peeked his head out from under the rug he had been laying under and bowed his head.

"Avatar Aang," Sokka said in a fake, pompous voice, wrapping himself in the other end of the curtain. "How do you do? Go on."

Aang bowed. Sokka made a face and bowed back, even lower. Aang grinned and bowed once more. Sokka did the same. Then they both tried to bow at the same time and their heads collided, sending them bouncing back.

"Katara might be able to pull it off, but you three would be lucky to pass as bus boys."

Toph stood, walking over to stand to Katara's right. Ellie turned from where she had been laughing at them and her smile fell into a sheepish look.

"But I feel so fancy!" Sokka complained, rubbing his head as he laid sprawled on the floor.

They spent the entire day formulating a plan, along with side-plans and back-up plans. Although Ellie would have preferred to be left out of matters and wreak havoc on Joo Dee, the others kept coming to her for help.

"Remind me again why you need my help?" Ellie asked with an annoyed sigh as she checked the other two girls' make-up that evening and helped make sure their bianfang, an ornamental headdress adorned with flowers, were straight.

"Because," Katara replied, handing her a hair comb to secure it with. "Being from the future makes you the wisest one in the group."

"So I have to do your hair?" Ellie asked noncommittally.

"Well we can't do it ourselves, can we?" Toph questioned in reply.

"If you say so," Ellie muttered, putting the last pin in Katara's hair. She handed her a mirror. "What do you think?"

"I suppose it'll do," Katara returned, eyeing her reflection critically.

"It'll do?!" Ellie squawked. "Of course _it will do!_ I just spent the past _half hour_ fixing it up for you! Next time do it yourself!"

Outside the door, the boys paused in their game of earth-water-fire at the sound of Ellie's shouts.

"She doesn't sound too happy," Aang noted warily.

"Does she ever?" Sokka replied. "Honestly sometimes she's as hotheaded as _Zuko_."

"Well her original element was fire after all," Aang commented.

Just then the door slid open, letting them know that the girls were _finally_ ready. Katara and Toph both giggled at the completely smitten look Katara received from Aang. Ellie sulked behind them. She really had no idea why the fact that Katara was wearing a fancy kimono and makeup made Aang blush excessively.

"Wow," Aang said, rubbing his head. "You look beautiful."

They walked out of the room and Katara opened her mouth to reply.

Toph whipped a fan in front of her mouth, startling silence into her and saying, "Don't talk to the commoners, Katara. First rule of society."

"We'll find a way into the party and left you in through the side gate," Katara reminded them as Toph lowered the fan and they began walking serenely towards the door with their backs straight and arms folded.

The two boys watched them go and Ellie continued to sulk.

OA

Although they had to start work early in the day and late into the night, Zuko had to admit that they were doing substantially well. The first night they worked they had raked together enough money to buy decent looking Earth Kingdom robes that were not the rags that they had worn as fugitives. Under his apron, Iroh wore a decent green robe while Zuko, who detested wearing anything other than Fire Nation garb, settled on a plain brown one.

It was only the second day they had been in the city, but already Pao's teashop had gone from a tiny, little, insignificant shack to the most popular venue in their district. Even as Iroh poured tea in a man's cup, he was complemented.

"This is the best tea in the city," he said enthusiastically.

"The secret ingredient is love," Iroh replied, waving the teapot and walking away. Zuko made a face at his back.

The teen then slowly set the tray full of tea assortments down on the table before him. The man that had complemented his uncle were now frequent visitors of this establishment. They were business men from the Middle Ring, from what he had gathered.

"I think you're due for a raise," Pao said to Iroh appreciatively in a quiet tone.

Suddenly the quiet was disturbed by the door being slid open by a forceful hand. It was the boy from the monorail station, Jet. He walked into the room and people turned to give him curious glances as he said loudly, "I'm tired of waiting."

"These two men are firebenders!"

Zuko and Iroh shared brief glances as the boy drew twin hook swords. Zuko, who had studied extensively with weapons before his banishment, had also seen a good bit of these. Although he preferred dual broad swords, he knew enough about to know that they were also called tiger blades and they had spears at the back as well as the deadly hooks on the front.

He quickly evaluated the room as someone in the room said, "What are you talking about, boy?"

"I know they're firebenders," Jet said harshly. "I saw the old man heating his tea!"

"He works in a teashop," one of the business men replied.

Zuko looked at him and noticed he wore a scabbard at his side.

"He's a firebender, I'm telling you!" Jet shouted, brandishing his swords.

"Drop your swords boy," the man commanded, coming to his feet as his hand went to the hilt of his sword— _or swords_ , Zuko corrected himself. It seemed that the spirits looked down on him favorably that day. "Nice and easy."

"You'll have to firebend," the boy said, talking directly to Iroh in a quieter voice. "Then everyone will know. Go ahead, show them what you can do."

Zuko finally walked forward and pulled the broad swords out of the man's scabbard.

"You want a show?" he asked. "I'll give you a show."

He hooked his foot around a leg of the table that stood to his right and swiftly pulled it in front of him, kicking it towards his assailant. Jet easily sliced through the cheap wood with his tiger blades as he jumped over it, landing before Zuko. The banished prince leapt back onto a table, blocking the blow of his left tiger blade.

Jet slice the table in half and Zuko wobbled to regain his balance, finally putting his weight on his right foot, which stood on one half of the table. Jet knocked over that half and Zuko was knocked over onto his left foot, which stood on the left half of the table. As Jet took that one out as well, Zuko jumped high into the air and came down, slicing at Jet, who parried his blow. Jet came running at him once more and their swords met in a four-way lock.

OA

Katara and Toph joined a queue of people and finally made it to the front. The guards there was asking people for invitations. When it was their turn, Toph pulled her passport with her family seal on it, the flying boar, out of her sleeve and showed it to the guard, saying, "I think this will do."

"No entry without an invitation," the man replied sternly. "Step out of line please."

All quietness gone as she stuffed the passport in her sleeve, Toph said, "Look the Pangs and the Yum Soon Hans are waiting in there for us. I'm going to have to tell them who didn't let me in."

"Step out of line, please," the guard repeated, a hint of a growl in his voice.

Katara took Toph's arm and led her out of the line, not wanting to make a scene. Luckily Toph knew better and reluctantly followed her. They drew to a halt and Katara noticed that as a man got out of a carriage and began heading for the doors, a row of guards bowed to him. So it was someone important.

Perfect.

Katara all but dragged Toph over to the man.

"Sir?" she asked. Both parties drew to a halt. "I'm sorry to bother you, but my cousin lost our invitations—" she leaned forward and stage whispered her next words, "She's blind," before continuing in a normal tone, "Do you think you could help us? Our family's inside and I'm sure they're very worried."

The man's eyes slid over to Toph, who looked as docile as possible, staring straight ahead with unblinking eyes. He then smiled and said, "I am honored," with a bow. "Please come with me."

He strode past them and they followed him in, only pausing briefly to stick out their tongues at the man standing guard. They were light through a courtyard, lit by moonlight, and to a pair of golden double doors. In those doors they went, coming out in the room where the party occurred.

There were already a lot of people inside, standing around and chatting. In the center was a long table full of food. Some people were already eating and, Katara noticed, the bear sat on one end. Around the room there were boys wandering around in blue frocks, carrying serving trays and pots of tea.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" the man asked, noticing as Katara stared at her surroundings. "I'm Long Feng, by the way. I'm a cultural minister to the king.

"I'm Qua Mai, and this is Dum," Katara gestured to Toph, who yanked on a tassel that hung from her bianfang.

"Now, where's your family?" Long Feng asked. "I'd _love_ to meet them."

"I-I don't see them right now," Katara said quickly, looking around as nonchalantly as she could manage, "but I'm sure we'll find them soon. Thanks for all your help."

As she talked, she dragged Toph along, looking back at him and waving. She turned around, looked down and let out a deep breath. Then, she looked up and started. Long Feng was now standing before them, blocking their path.

"Don't worry," he said in a smooth voice. "As your escort it would be dishonorable to you ladies without finding your family, first. We'll keep looking."

And they had no chance but to follow as he turned and walked away.

OA

Aang, Ellie, and Sokka peeked out from behind a large statue of a tigerdillo, watching the side gate. So far, there had been no sign of Katara. The only other sign of life were the bus boys that unloaded a truck and two lone guards that kept watch.

"Where are they?" Aang asked.

"They got held up," Ellie replied, ducking back around.

Neither boy argued against her judgement—being held up was most likely.

"Look, I came up with a backup plan," Sokka said quietly. He grabbed Momo and swung him around as he continued, "We dress Momo like a ghost, okay? He flies by the guards, creating a distraction. Then, we blast a hole in the wall—"

"Sokka, no!" Ellie admonished. "This is the Earth Kingdom _palace_. There will be no blasting holes in _any_ of these walls! You know we came up with real backup plans."

"Then what are your backup plans, O Dictatorial One?" Sokka asked snidely.

"We go in with these guys," Aang said, motioning to the servant boys. "Toph _did_ say we could pass as bus boys."

OA

The two young men burst through the doorway. Zuko skidded across the alleyway and brought both swords up to meet Jet's.

"You must be tired of using those swords," the shaggy haired boy said with a smirk. "Why don't you go ahead and firebend at me?"

Zuko, with slight difficulty, shoved Jet off of him as Iroh said from the doorway, "Please, son, you're confused! You don't know what you're doing!"

They continued to spin, jab, and block. More than once, Zuko noticed that Jet used the hooks to pull his swords out of the way, but he was always ready to block once more as the tiger blade came back around.

"Bet you wish he'd help you out with a little fire blast right now!" Jet continued, swinging his sword around to where the spear head got dangerously close to Zuko.

The firebender, in return, jabbed his sword into the handle of the blade, wrenching it from Jet's grasp—were of them were down to only one sword.

"You're the one who needs help," Zuko spat.

He swung his sword in an arc that would have been able to slice of the shaggy boy's head, had he not ducked. Still, it was close enough that it cut of the top of the piece of straw that hung from Jet's mouth. The boy quickly righted himself and hopped back onto the well behind him.

"You see that?" he asked the crowd, which was steadily growing to watch their fight. "The Fire Nation is trying to silence me! It'll never happen."

He grabbed his blade with both hands and used the hook to swing down from the well, launching himself feet first at the scarred teen with a yell.

OA

Aang and Sokka had already gone inside, but Ellie had to make sure she looked just right. She was wearing her black outfit underneath the blue bus boy robes. She pulled her hair up into as tight a bun as she could manage, grabbed a hat that was a bit big on her, and pulled it onto her head, pushing it back so that she could see. She grabbed a tray of dumplings and hastened to catch up to the others.

She found the two boys standing together, talking quietly, though they didn't look at each other. The blonde hurried over.

"You can't see my hair, can you?" she asked.

"No," Sokka replied. "Why?"

"It's too noticeable," Ellie replied. "Have you seen Toph and Katara yet?"

Both boys shook their heads.

"Forget them," Sokka muttered. "Just keep an eye out for the king."

Momo's tail, which Ellie just noticed had been hanging out of Aang's hat, raised slightly, curling in Sokka's face.

"I don't know what he looks like," Aang said worriedly.

Sokka grabbed the end of the tail and pinched it.

"You know," he replied, shoving the tail down. "Royal, flowing robe, fancy jewelry."

"That could be anyone here," Aang retorted.

"Oh yeah, and since he's a _king_ ," Ellie added, "he'll be riding in a palanquin."

"That…" Sokka said quietly, trailing off slightly. "Makes sense. Why didn't I think of that?"

"Because you don't use your brain," Ellie replied scathingly.

"Another crab puff, please," said an aristocratic voice near them.

All three of them turned to see Toph standing behind them.

"You found us!" Aang exclaimed as Sokka offered her his tray.

"I'd know your little footsteps anywhere, Twinkle Toes," she replied, daintily picking a puff.

"Thanks for letting us in," Sokka said, straightening as his sister joined them.

"Sorry," Katara replied apologetically. "The guy who escorted us in won't let us out of his sight!"

"What guy?" Sokka asked, peering over her shoulder.

"Long Feng," Ellie supplied in an unhappy tone. "Am I right?"

Katara nodded.

"What are you doing here?"

They turned to see a frantic Joo Dee hurrying up to them.

"You have to leave immediately, or we'll all be in terrible trouble!" she exclaimed.

"We're not leaving 'til we see the king!" Sokka retorted.

"You don't understand," Joo Dee said, pushing on his tray. "You must go."

She shoved him into Aang, who let out a startled yell as his teapot tipped over and doused a woman standing near them.

"Oh!" she exclaimed in annoyance.

"No!" Aang pleaded. "Don't yell!"

He thrust his arms out, intending on drying her with a gust of air. As he airbent, his hat flew off of his head, revealing his tattoos.

He did dry her, but she had too much product of her hair and face that her hair stuck flying backwards and her makeup was running horribly. However, she smiled and said in a water voice, "Oh, the Avatar! I didn't know the Avatar was going to be here!"

The dainty music playing in the background stopped as everyone within earshot turned to stand at Aang. Joo Dee's smile fell and Aang blushed. Momo, still under Aang's hat, slunk off into the crowd.

Sokka stepped up behind him and muttered in his ear, "You keep their attention while we look for the king." He stepped back and nodded at Ellie and the two of them set off into the crowd.

"Watch this, everybody!" Aang exclaimed.

While he was keep everyone in the room distracted, Sokka stopped and whispered to Ellie, "You go and cover that side of the room. I've got this side."

Ellie nodded and set off to make her way around to the other side of the table. She shoved her tray of dumplings into the hands of the nearest noblewoman and pulled off the blue robes. In her long black clothes, she moved through the crowd like a shadow, stopping at the pillar that stood by the room's exit.

OA

Jet and Zuko stood back to back, thrusting and swinging their swords in overhand and underhand cuts. There was only the sound of clanging weapons over the hush of the crowd that completely encircled them.

"Drop your weapons!" one of two Dai Li agents called.

The two young men stepped apart, but did not drop their weapons.

"Arrest them!" Jet shouted. 'They're firebenders!"

"This poor boy is confused!" Iroh cried. "We are just simple refugees."

"This young man wrecked my teashop and assaulted my employees!" Pao exclaimed, pointing to Jet.

"It's true sir," the business man added. "We saw the whole thing. This crazy kid attacked the finest tea maker in Ba Sing Se."

"That's very sweet," Iroh blushed.

Zuko had to resist rolling his eyes.

"Come with us, son," the Dai Li agent commanded, stepping towards Jet. Jet swung his remaining sword at the man, who caught it in a glove made out of earth. While that agent wrenched the sword out of the boys hand, the other grabbed his free arm. Together, they forced his arms behind his back and secured them with earth from their gloves.

As they pulled him backwards into the back of the truck, Jet cried out, "You don't understand! They're firebenders! You have to believe me!"

Zuko and Iroh watched as the doors to the back of the cart were slammed shut and the boy was taken away. Amidst the crowd, Longshot and Smellerbee slunk off.

OA

Ellie watched as the Earth King rode into the room on his palanquin, surrounded by sixteen guards. She sat atop the pillar, high enough that anyone trying to see her would have to look up, which people seldom did.

She heard a voice call, "Aang! The Earth King!" and turned to see Aang riding up the table on an air scooter.

The blonde turned back in time to see the palanquin take off again, leaving behind eight of the guards, who began walking towards the long table. She turned to see Sokka rush after the retreating form of the young king, and jumped down from the pillar. She made it into the doorway, but two Dai Li agents blocked her path. They roughly turned her around and clapped an earthen hand over her mouth to muffle her cry.

She was gripped on either side, her arms pinned behind her. The earth still covered her mouth. As she was carried discreetly into the crowd, she saw Sokka being taken towards the back of the room as well. Katara and Toph let out muffled cries of surprise as they were pulled backwards by gloves that belonged to another two Dai Li agents.

They were led out of the room, into the dark courtyard, and through a door to their right. There, they were all released. The room they were in was dim, lit only by a green fire and two green torches that hung on either side of the door.

"What is the meaning of this?" Katara exclaimed.

"I'm an Avatar, you know!" Ellie shouted.

"Why can't we see the Earth King?!" Sokka cried.

All four of their voices overlapped each other as they spewed insults and dismay. The Dai Li said nothing, standing around them at attention. The room, however, fell silent as the door opened. In stepped Long Feng, followed by Aang. He waved to his men, and they left the room without a word.

Once the door was shut, Sokka asked in an angry tone, "Why won't you let us talk to the king? We have information that could defeat the Fire Nation!"

Long Feng sat on a cushion in front of the fire and replied serenely, "The Earth King has no time to get involved with political squabbles and the day to day minutia of military activities."

"This could be the most important thing he's ever heard," Aang protested.

"What's most important to his royal majesty is maintaining the _cultural_ heritage of Ba Sing Se," Long Feng said. "All his duties relate to issuing decrees on such matters. It's _my_ job to oversee the rest of the city's resources, including the military."

"So he's just a figurehead," Katara mused.

"He's your puppet!" Toph exclaimed.

As a born and bred Earth Kingdom citizen, she looked righteously angry at the thought.

"No, no!" Long Feng dissented. "He is an icon! A god to his people. He doesn't have time to sully his hands with the hourly changes of an endless war."

"But we found out about a solar eclipse that will leave the Fire Nation defenseless!" Sokka shouted. "You could lead an invasion—"

"Please," Ellie pleaded as Long Feng opened his mouth. "We can't lead an invasion without an army!"

"Enough!" the man snapped. "I don't want to hear your pleas. It is strict policy of Ba Sing Se that the war not be mentioned within the walls.

"Constant news of an escalating war would throw the citizens of Ba Sing Se into a state of panic…"

OA

"Please!" Jet cried as he was dragged into a dark room, strapped into a chair against the wall. "You have to believe me, they're firebenders! They won't stop until they win the war!"

Stones circled around his head and locked it against the back of the chair.

"Calm down," the Dai Li agent said soothingly, "You're safe now."

A light spun around him, flashing in Jet's eyes. It was blinding against the endless dark of the room.

OA

"Our economy would be ruined," Long Feng continued. "Our peaceful way of life—our traditions—would disappear."

OA

The light flashed in Jet's eyes once more.

"There is no war in Ba Sing Se," the Dai Li agent said in the same soothing voice.

"What are you talking about?" Jet retorted. "Where do you think all the refugees come from? You can't hide it!"

Another flash.

OA

"In silencing talk of conflict," Long Feng said, "Ba Sing Se remains an orderly utopia—the last one on earth."

The five teenagers stared at him in disbelief.

OA

Meanwhile, Jet watched with wide eyes as the light continued to spin, casting long shadows that spun around the Dai Li agent. He tried to call out, but the earth covering his mouth prevented him from doing so.

"There is no war within the walls," the man continued. " _Here_ , we are safe. _Here we are free…_ "

Jet's mind went blank. He could hear nothing but the man's words echoing over and over again in his head. He could see nothing but the roving light, flashing in his eyes every time it made a full circle. His eyes dilated as it flashed one final time.

OA

"You can't keep the truth from all these people," Katara protested. "They _have_ to know!"

"I'll tell them!" Aang exclaimed, stepping forward. "I'll make sure everyone knows!"

"Until now, you've been treated as our honored guest," Long Feng said quietly. "But from now on , you will be watched every moment by Dai Li agents. If you mention the war to anyone, you will be expelled from the city." Aang resolution remained unmoved, his face still betraying his thoughts of mutiny. "I understand you are looking for your bison—" Aang's face fell at the mention of Appa. "It would be a shame if you were unable to complete your quest."

Aang scowled.

"Now Joo Dee will show you home."

The doors opened to reveal a strange woman with short hair.

"Come with me, please," she said in a voice much deeper than their original guide's.

"What happened to Joo De?" Katara exclaimed.

"I'm Joo Dee," the woman said. "I'll be your host as long as you are in our wonderful city."

* * *

 **As you can tell by the beginning of the chapter, I like to fix little loop holes that the series never addresses. Like, how come the sun is setting at the end of the episode with the drill, but in the beginning of the next one the sun is rising? What, did they sleep in the station? Oh, it bothers me so much. But anyway, I hope you enjoyed the chapter! Next up is Tales of Ba Sing Se...ish...well, let's just say it involves Ba Sing Se.**

 **~LittleMissMycroft**


	26. Part 2: Life in the City

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: the Last Airbender.**

 **Good news everyone, I've actually finished writing this story! Woohoo! I just need to post it. I plan on posting regularly-every three to four days, but may not be able to if something comes up. With any luck, I should have this entire story posted by the end of September. :)**

* * *

 **Chapter Fourteen: Life in the City**

Ellie rolled over and pressed her face into the pillow she had placed at the head of her mat. She had no idea how these people could sleep without pillows. She supposed they were used to it, but since _she_ was used to _using_ a pillow, she continued to do so.

The blonde girl squeezed her eyes tighter as if it would prevent these thoughts from flitting into her mind and she would be able to fall back asleep. She laid there for what seemed like forever. Finally, she realized sleep would not come. She rolled back over and sat up with a groan.

The room was still mostly dark. The only light that filtered in the room was a pale, thin light that seeped through the window. She groaned and rubbed her eyes, breathing fire out of her nose in annoyance. That was another thing that she still had yet to get used to—rising with the sun. Before she unlocked her firebending, she could sleep well past midmorning. Now, she found herself awake and unable to fall back asleep the second the sun peeked over the horizon.

Ellie got to her feet and stretched with a yawn. She padded silently past the sleeping forms of Toph and Katara, and made her way into the room that connected theirs to the main living area—it had a mirror lining one side. Along the mirror ran a counter that held all of Team Avatar's knick-knacks that ranged from hairbrushes to shaving cream.

The fourteen-year-old picked up her own wooden brush and ran it through her hair, which was sticking up in odd places and had a really infuriating knot at the back. She then checked her reflection in the mirror. Her hair, bleach blonde in color, now reached past her shoulders. She lifted a strand and, with her fingers, measured how long it had grown since she had been dumped on Zuko's ship—at least six inches.

At this thought, Ellie reflected that it had now been at least half a year since then.

"It's really pretty, you know," a soft voice said to her left.

Ellie jumped and turned to see Katara, who had been watching Ellie eye her hair. The Water Tribe girl had noticed that her friend's expression had turned sad.

"What?" Ellie asked.

"Your hair," Katara replied. "It's getting really long. I wish mine was that unique color."

"Oh," Ellie said, turning back to the mirror. "I guess I've always loved it as well."

"Would you like me to teach you how to braid it?" Katara asked. "It would help keep it out of your way."

"I guess," Ellie replied hesitantly.

So it was that when Toph woke and slumped her way out towards the main living space, she stumbled across Ellie and Katara, who had been taking turns braiding each-others' hair. Ellie currently sported two French braids, and was working on a very long single braid of Katara's.

"Oh, good!" Katara chimed happily at the sight of Toph. "You're awake! I was just discussing with Ellie how we should go shopping!"

"I don't know if I need to remind you Katara," Ellie retorted, "but we don't have a whole lot of money."

"Pakku gave us at least twenty gold pieces when we left the North Pole," Katara replied. "That should be more than enough."

"So we're gonna squander it on useless items?" Toph asked.

"No," Katara replied. "We aren't using any money right now, anyway."

"What if we need it later?" Ellie asked, trying a blue ribbon at the end of Katara's braid.

"We'll get by."

Katara stood and added, "Besides. We need a girls' day out."

She then cornered Toph and did her hair for her before dragging the two reluctant tom-boys out to the shopping center. The first place she took them was the spa where they got mud baths and such. Ellie drew the line at make-up and, since she refused, Toph did as well.

One thing that had especially seemed to bother Katara was the fact that Ellie had very little clothing—only her clothes from the future, her modified black outfit she had taken from a one of Zuko's men, and a red Fire Nation robe she had bought on one of their shopping excursions before the North Pole.

Ellie had been wearing her black outfit. Her old clothes would be scandalous to the likes of Ba Sing Se nobles, and her Fire Nation dress—that would be considered outright traitorous to wear it. It was for this reason that Katara drug both Ellie and Toph to the nearest dress shop, intending on leaving with Ellie owning at least one new dress.

Ellie submitted and even admitted to herself that she needed more clothes if she was going to be stuck in this time indefinitely. Finally, they were leaving the shop and Ellie wore a cream ao dai with green trimming and flowing sleeves. There were slits in the legs that went up mid-thigh and underneath the dress she wore forest green silk pants.

"Are we done now?" Toph asked impatiently—almost pleadingly.

"I suppose," Katara replied. "I bet the guys are wondering where we are by now."

"You two go on," Ellie said reluctantly, not wanting to admit she still needed to shop. "I'm gonna look around for some more clothes."

" _You_?" Katara asked, as if she could not believe her ears. "Shopping? _Willingly_?"

"Yes, me," Ellie snarled. "I know when I _have_ to shop."

Toph raised her eyebrows and Katara stifled a laugh with her hand held up to her mouth. Ellie harrumphed and walked off, leaving them to return to their house. In all honesty, she wanted to buy Earth Kingdom attire that would get her out of that dress as soon as possible and would not make her look like a docile noble girl.

She knew that peasants in both the Earth Kingdom and the Fire Nation wore grey clothes—especially if they were nonbenders. Ellie felt that if she bought an inconspicuously grey outfit, she could blend in anywhere.

Knowing she wouldn't be able to find what she was looking for in the Upper Ring—or in the Middle Ring, for that matter—the blonde made her way towards the innermost wall of the city. Luckily, the shopping area they were in, while also very close to their house, stood along a road that led straight for the wall. As Ellie walked along the sidewalk, she could see it looming before her.

It felt nice walking through the city. It was a pleasant day and the sun beat down. Little coverings provided shade outside the door of each individual shop she passed. This was more like it. It made her feel more part of the city than riding in the carriage had. She walked on the same level as the people around her, and for once since she had been dumped on Zuko's ship she felt like a normal person. There was no demanding prince to hide from, no duties from being an Avatar, no responsibility at all. It was just her and the rest of the world, as it had been back at home.

These thoughts continued as she stepped into the shadow of the wall and a smile played on her face. Finally, she came to a stop and walked over to the single opening in the wall. There were two men standing guard there. They nodded to her as she passed through into the Middle Ring. She walked through three different neighborhoods and over five little bridges.

Then she got to the second wall. She looked up at it, it once more casting shadow over her. This time, there was no opening, only two men standing there. Though they gave her odd looks, they did not ask any questions and opened the wall for her, for which she was grateful. She suspected that not many people from the inner part of the city tried to get into the Lower Ring.

Finally in the Lower Ring, Ellie's smile was reinstated as she wandered around, looking for a place to buy new clothes. Quickly, however, the smile fell as she realized she was receiving a lot of unpleasant looks from inhabitants of the Lower Ring as she passed by. She supposed that it was the fact that she was wearing a nice, brightly colored dress. These people seemed to resent the people living beyond the first inner wall.

Ellie's hand surreptitiously came to rest on the cork of her pouch, ready to access water in defense if the need arose. Luckily, she received no more than dark looks. Wanting to be out of the dress even more, Ellie came to the first person that wasn't openly scowling at her to ask for directions—she'd explore once she was changed if she really wanted to.

The old woman told her of an open market two streets to the left. Quickly, Ellie strode confidently down the street, turned to the left, and found the open market. There were baskets of food under tents, some of which looked like it was rotting. There were trays set up with armbands, flowers, and other little trinkets. Finally, there was a stall that had stacks of clothing in three different colors— dark green, grey, and brown.

The grey was the cheapest—only two bronze coins.

Feeling sorry for these people who had to peddle on the streets for a living, Ellie stepped into the stall and said, "I'll give you a gold piece for some clothes."

The man selling clothes stared at her like she was an alien. Perhaps it didn't help that her hair was blonde.

After a pause, the man asked slowly, "What would you like?"

"Do you mind?" Ellie asked, gesturing to the wooden bins of clothing.

The man made a gesture, letting her know she was free to dig. Ellie dug through the bin holding the grey clothes and found an outfit that was decently cute. There was a grey blouse with brown trimmings, grey leggings that went down to the knees, and a very short skirt.

"Can I have this?" she asked, once more receiving an unbelieving stare from the man.

She noticed other venders were watching her now.

"Are you sure you don't want something nicer?" he asked. "Nothing here is worth a gold piece, but take some of the green clothes. They're worth ten bronze pieces."

"No, this is perfect," Ellie replied with a smile.

She tossed the gold coin on the table and the man picked it up, still staring at it in disbelief. She began walking away, and the man hastily shouted after her, "Thank you!"

As she passed the other stalls, suddenly they all shouted out to her.

"Jewelry! Buy your jewelry here!"

"Fresh fruits! Fresh vegetables! Perfect for a stroll through the city!"

"Flowers to brighten up your home!"

"Baskets for picnics!"

The list went on.

Sadly, Ellie walked out of the alley and went back down the road. She stepped in the nearest building that looked decent. A short man with a long brown braid greeted her at the door.

"Do you have facilities I can use?" she asked. "I would like to change into something I can more easily walk in."

"We have a refresher in the back," he replied.

"Thank you," she said with a smile, nodding her head at him.

She made her way to the back of the shop, noticing that the place smelled quite pleasant. Ellie drew a deep breath in, closing her eyes for a mere second. She then felt her body collide with someone and opened them again.

She started and looked up into the face of the person she had walked into. At the sight of a familiar scar, she blushed. Zuko jumped back, sloshing tea on her.

"Oh, I-I'm so—" he cut off abruptly as he looked up from the ground and caught a glimpse of blonde hair.

Knowing he was about to apologize, Ellie replied, "Oh, don't worry, I was about to change out of it anyway."

She lifted up her dress, looking down on the stain on it.

Zuko searched his mind for what to say—what he _could_ say. For a second, in fact, he was rendered utterly speechless at the sight of her _again_. Why did they keep running into each other—literally? Zuko blushed. Finally he found his voice.

" _Ellie?_ " he managed to breathe.

"Yes?" she replied.

Zuko berated himself mentally. Was that the best he was capable of when it came to talking to her? At the same time, Ellie was berating herself for an entirely different reason.

Stupid, _stupid._ _How_ could she have forgotten Zuko was in town with them? In the Lower Ring no less? The _exact_ place she had wandered alone. The place in the city that was the furthest away from their house.

They stood in silence for the briefest of seconds with both of them made faces at themselves, then Zuko's nose scrunched up in a furious frown, he grabbed Ellie's arm, and dragged her to the back of the shop.

"What are you _doing_?!" she exclaimed furiously but softly once he let go of her.

"What are _you_ doing here?" he whispered harshly. "I thought you were traveling with the _Avatar_."

He said the last part with a sneer.

Ellie opened her mouth to retort angrily, but nothing came to mind and her mouth hung open for a second. Then, he fixed her a look and she exclaimed, "I was! I-I mean _am_. Not that I mean they're _here_ —but I guess if I'm traveling with them it's obvious they _are_."

She cut off, burying her face in her hands.

"I don't know," she moaned through her fingers.

"What's that supposed to mean?!" Zuko exploded.

Angry again at him being angry at her while she was obviously confused, she turned red and muttered passionately, "What do you think it means?! Of course I'm traveling with the Avatar! I already told you so, didn't I?! And as you _might_ recall, I _told_ you that I was not trying to hinder you!"

"You're traveling with the Avatar!" Zuko all but wailed, his voice growing progressively louder. Ellie looked out into the shop where they were starting to gather unwanted attention. Knowing they needed to continue this conversation, Ellie grabbed Zuko's arm and pulled him out of the back door of the shop.

"Yes, I'm traveling with the Avatar," Ellie stated calmly, "but I'm not trying to keep you from your destiny. I only want what's best for you."

Zuko finally calmed and his eyebrows drew together, his face downcast.

"But if you want what's best for me, why did you change sides?"

This time his questioned was quiet and pleading.

"I can't tell you," she sighed, looking down.

"Why?" he queried in a hard voice.

"I just— _can't_." Zuko opened his mouth, beginning to look outraged again. "It's nothing against you! Believe me, I _will_ tell you someday, but not today. You're not ready."

"Not— _not ready_?!" Zuko exploded. "For _what_?"

"I—can't— _tell_ —you—that," Ellie repeated through gritted teeth.

"Fine!" Zuko shouted, crossing his arms.

Ellie sighed and looked up into his eyes, her expression growing sad.

"I know it's hard for you right now," she said. "And I know you're confused and you just want to go home, but please listen to me when I tell you that you _will_ find what you're looking for. When you do, come and find me. I'll be waiting for you."

Zuko looked down at her in astonishment.

"You'd do that?" he asked in wonder. "You'd—you'd _wait_ for me?"

"For you, Zuko, I'd wait a million years," she replied, leaning up on her tiptoes and planting a kiss on his cheek.

He blushed and put a hand up to where he could still feel her soft lips on his skin, not even noticing as she went back inside. Ellie quickly changed and made her way out of the shop, ready to get out of the Lower Ring—away from Zuko—but not quite ready to face the others.

Iroh, who was occupied by making a pot of tea earlier, only noticed Ellie for the first time as she walked out the door. He leaned around the corner and stared, watching as a flash of her hair passed by the window. Then, she was gone. He turned and looked around the room—Zuko was nowhere to be found. Iroh checked the back for him, and as he was about to open the back door, it opened and a stunned looking Zuko walked into the back of the shop.

"Did you see the guest we just had?" Iroh asked.

"Huh?" Zuko asked distantly, grabbing the pot of tea he had discarded on a counter.

"Ellie?" Iroh continued. "Did you get a chance to talk to her?"

"Oh, yeah," Zuko replied, refilling the teapot.

"Well?" he asked. Zuko looked at him in confusion. "Isn't she traveling with the Avatar?"

Iroh was reluctant to bring that fact up, but he found it quite odd that his nephew was not immediately rushing around the city trying to find him.

"Oh," Zuko said again, still speaking in a dazed sort of way. "Yeah. I suppose she is."

OA

"Are you all right?" Aang asked. He had flown up to the rooftop and landed with a whirl of his glider beside Ellie, who sat gazing towards the Lower Ring. "You've been sitting up here all evening."

"I just needed to think," she replied.

Aang sat down beside her, his legs dangling over the side of the roof. Ellie, on the other hand sat cross-legged. She had in fact been doing a lot of thinking. Thinking about Zuko, thinking about bending, thinking about being not just _an_ Avatar but _the_ Dark Avatar at that. She thought of home, and most of all her mind kept returning to that kiss. Why had she done it? _Why_ had she kissed him? She sighed and rested her chin on her knees, which she drew up to her chest.

"The city looks beautiful from up here," Aang said quietly.

"Yeah," Ellie said sarcastically. "It almost makes it seem like this place isn't hide dark secrets."

"Like the war?"

"Like the fact that Long Feng is using the Earth King. Not even the Earth King knows it."

"Hm," Aang mused.

They both sat in silence, looking out on the city, heavy weights of responsibility hanging over both their heads. Finally, Ellie slid over the side of the roof, landing nimbly on her feet and calling up to Aang, "Come on! Katara will be worried sick about _both_ of us if we keep moping like this!"

* * *

 **Hope you liked it! Review if you did! I know that I made a bit of a big deal out of a peck on the cheek, but it's not a big deal to Ellie. Remember that this is a fourteen-year-old girl that essentially avoided all people before she met Team Avatar. Liking someone enough to kiss them is a _very_ big deal in her mind. Keep reading!**

 **~LittleMissMycroft**


	27. Part 2: Something Different

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: the Last Airbender**

* * *

 **Chapter Fifteen: Something Different**

Ever since he had seen Ellie again, Zuko could not take his mind off of her. He knew vaguely that the Avatar must be in town if she was, but he was distant, his head in the clouds. Not once did it cross his mind to go searching for the Avatar. Perhaps it was because the city was so large he didn't know where to start, or perhaps it was because he kept getting distracted at the thought of seeing Ellie again. Either way, he was not even able to pay attention every time his uncle prodded him on the subject and advised him to leave the Avatar be.

Which he did fabulously. He minded his own business, doing his work each day. When Iroh received news that he was going to receive his own teashop, he had even smiled for his uncle. Of course, then he immediately stepped out for some fresh air.

Even though he was only thinking of Ellie instead of the Avatar, he was still disappointed that they were making themselves a life in Ba Sing Se. He felt contained by the walls, surrounded by the enemy at all time. He missed home terribly with the royal palace, the duck pond where he used to spend time with his mother, the city full of people that he would rule one day…

But now he was stuck in Ba Sing Se in a life that was not his, with an identity that was a lie. He leaned against the wall of Pao's Shop, looking down as his smile fell. Then, a piece of paper flitted down into his vision towards his feet. Zuko caught it in his right hand and looked down at it—it was a poster for the Avatar's missing bison.

Suddenly, Zuko's hope was renewed. He had a way of trapping the Avatar. All he had to do was find this bison and ransom it to the Avatar…Yes, that would work! Suddenly, Zuko's mind was filled with fantasies of returning home once more. He could see in his mind's eye taking Ellie to the palace and showing her the duck pond.

Zuko looked up, spinning in circles as he tried to get a glimpse of the Avatar. All he saw was blue sky. The young man climbed up the side of the shop, standing on the roof just in time to see more flyers floating down towards the ground in a line.

He looked down at the flyer once more and then looked up, an expression of steely determination now gracing his face.

OA

"I'm very disappointed in your work with the Avatar and his friends, Joo Dee," Long Feng said in his silky voice. He sat in the library as usual, looking down at Joo Dee as the green fire cast a long shadow upon her. The library was completely dark, all windows shuttered and covered with thick curtains. At the door stood two guards. "I had hoped you would be able to control the situation."

"I'm so sorry," Joo Dee sobbed through her hands. "They don't trust me anymore. I don't think I can keep working like this!"

At her distress, Long Feng looked down at her coldly, saying in a falsely soothing voice, "Joo Dee, the Earth King has invited you to Lake Laogai."

The woman's eyes dilated and she lifted a tear-streaked face to her employer. It was a mask of calm; no sign of the distress remained.

"I am honored to accept his invitation," she replied.

"Good," Long Feng appraised. "Now go await your orders."

Joo Dee gave a little bow and back out of the room. The guards closed the door behind her. Standing, Long Feng turned to face the fire and said, "If the Avatar keeps searching for his bison, it could upset the delicate balanced we've worked so hard to achieve in this city. It could even cost us control of the Earth King."

"Should we take care of him?" one of the men asked.

"No," Long Feng commanded, pulling his arms out of his sleeves and clutching a scroll. "It's much too dangerous for us to confront him directly. Let's see if we can still handle this quietly."

OA

"I found it."

Iroh broke off abruptly his happy chatter about what to name the new shop, taking the flyer from Zuko's hand.

"—The way to capture the Avatar," Zuko continued. "He is indeed in the city, and he's lost his bison."

"We have a chance for a new life here," Iroh protested as Zuko walked over to look out the window. "If you go stirring up trouble now, we could lose all the good things that are happening for us."

"Good things that are happening for _you_ ," Zuko retorted. "Haven't you ever realized that I want more from life than a nice apartment and a job serving tea?"

"There is nothing wrong with a life of peace and prosperity," Iroh pointed out. "I suggest you think about what it is that you want from your life and why."

"I want my destiny," Zuko said, turning back to the window.

"What that means is up to you," his uncle replied.

Zuko turned and walked out of the room, standing on the balcony that led to their apartment in the Lower Ring. He leaned on the railing. Iroh's advice made him think of Ellie had said that day they bumped into each other.

"— _you_ will _find what you're looking for. When you do, come and find me. I'll be waiting for you_."

"What _am_ I looking for?" he asked himself, looking down at the earth beneath him.

He was looking for the Avatar, right? Or was he looking for his honor, his throne, looking to please his father. That seemed right, but at the same time Zuko felt deep down that he was looking for love. He wanted his father to accept him. He wanted to show Ellie his home. He wanted the Avatar.

OA

Ellie stood at a kiosk in the middle of an open market in the Middle Ring. They had split up to post posters about the city, Sokka and Toph going to cover the outside of businesses, Katara a nearby residential area, and Aang took the park. She stuck three posters up on the kiosk and walked back the way she came, looking around at the posters that glared down at her from all directions.

She had finally made it back to where they had split up and was turning in the opposite direction to find Sokka to get more when she heard a shout. Realizing it was Katara's voice, she froze, looking in the direction the waterbender had gone. Before she could decide on her choice of action, Sokka came bolting towards her, dragging Toph behind him.

"What's going on?" Ellie asked. "That sounded like—"

"Katara! I know!" Sokka interrupted, running past her after his sister. Ellie ran after him.

There were more shouts, joined with a boy's voice. Aang joined them as the shouts grew nearer until finally, they ran into an alleyway where Katara stood in a ready waterbending stance.

"Katara, what is it?" Sokka asked.

"Jet's back," she replied darkly.

Ellie's eyes came to rest on the boy with shaggy hair, who was pinned to the wall by ice shards and held a poster in his left hand. His hooked swords lay at his feet. Ellie's mind worked quickly as memories stirred at the sight of him.

"We can't trust anything Jet says," Katara said, and Ellie attempted to focus.

"But we don't even know why he's here!" Sokka protested.

"I don't care why he's here—" Katara started, but Ellie quickly zoned out, thinking.

The longer she spent in Aang's time, the more Ellie noticed that she could remember less and less of the show. It was like the more time she spent away from home, the more of it was erased from her mind. She could still remember the vague plot of the series, and even some episodes (her old favorites more than others) but she could no longer quote lines at the same time as the speaker, or even remember specific details, no matter how important they were.

When they had been on the boat, traveling towards Ba Sing Se, Aang had cornered her to ask her whether Appa was actually in the city or not.

" _Well?" he asked._

 _Ellie looked at him and searched her mind. She remembered the dark episodes of Ba Sing Se, full of brainwashing and coups. Suddenly, as she tried to remember about Appa, her mind went blank. She knew she should know the answer, but it wouldn't come to her. Frightened, her eyes widened and she turned to look out to sea._

" _I-I don't know," she replied._

 _Aang regarded her worriedly._

But at the sight of Jet, memories flooded her mind. Memories of Jet sitting in a chair with a light flashing before him, memories of hundreds of women being trained as Joo Dee, and finally memories of Appa in a cell as Zuko freed him. They all took place in dark, damp quarters, that she knew were underwater.

"I'm here to help find Appa," Jet was saying, letting the poster in his hand unfurl.

"Katara," Aang said, "We have to give him a chance—"

"Lake Laogai!" she exclaimed suddenly.

At these words Jet straightened and stared at her. At the same time, the others turned to give her odd looks. Katara especially looked upset that her angry tirade at Jet had been interrupted.

"What?" Sokka asked.

Ellie turned directly to Aang.

"I just remembered where Appa is," she told him. "They're keeping him in a headquarters under the lake—Lake Laogai."

Sokka pulled a map out of his bag and held it out.

"That's the lake there," he said, pointing to a body of water located in the outermost ring of the city. "We'll have to take a monorail out past the Lower Ring towards the outer wall to get there."

So they set off towards the end of the alleyway, heading for the station.

"Let me come with you," Jet suggested, really seeming like he wanted to help out.

"We don't need your help!" Katara retorted.

"Why won't you trust me?"

"Gee, I wonder," was the sarcastic reply.

"Was this guy your boyfriend?" Toph asked as Sokka and Aang disappeared around the corner of the alley.

"What?! No!" Katara exclaimed.

"I can tell you're lying," Toph chanted with a wide smile.

Ellie hid a smile as Katara gave a snort of discuss and hurried after the guys.

"Of course we'll have to walk once we get to the wall," Sokka was saying as the girls caught up.

"And on the way back we'll be flying!" Aang added, sounding the happiest since Ellie had joined the group.

"We're finally leaving Ba Sing Se," Toph said happily. "Worst city ever!"

They had made it out of the alleyway and were walking down the main street that led to the monorail station. Suddenly, a cry stopped them as a blue blur sped past Toph, Ellie, and slammed into Jet.

"Jet!" cried the scratchy voice.

Jet turned, surprised as Smellerbee slammed into him and Longshot followed behind.

"I thought you said you didn't have your gang anymore," Katara said violently.

"I don't," Jet replied, sounding as disbelieving as Katara herself.

"We were so worried," Smellerbee said quickly. "How did you get away from the Dai Li?"

"The Dai Li?!" Katara all but shouted.

"I don't know what she's talking about!" Jet protested.

"He got arrested by the Dai Li a couple weeks ago. We saw them drag him away."

"Why would I be arrested?" Jet asked. "I've been living peacefully in the city!"

"This doesn't make any sense," Toph said, crouching down and feeling the ground in between them. "They're both telling the truth."

"How do you know?" Katara asked sarcastically.

"When someone's lying, there's a physical reaction," Toph replied. "The heart rate and breathing speeds up. But both here think that what they're saying is the truth."

"That's not possible," Katara muttered.

"It is possible," Ellie said in remembrance. "Jet's been brainwashed by the Dai Li. They tricked him into thinking he's turned around whether he did or not."

"That's crazy! It can't be!" Jet exclaimed as the others closed in around him. "Stay away from me!"

"Why don't we see if we can get him his memories back before we head to the lake?" Ellie suggested. The others nodded in agreement. "Katara you need to put healing water around his head."

"Why can't you—?"

"I can't heal!" Ellie snapped. "Just do it, please."

They took Jet into the nearest alleyway and Katara did so. Jet sat there, his eyes squinting at the ground as his mind was flooded with the memories of being brainwashed.

He stood and nodded at them, to let them know he remembered, and they ran off to the train station. They took a train to the Inner Wall. There, they took to a road that led off to the lake. It lay on the east side of the city with high banks that faced the walls of the city. Along the banks was a dirt path. There, they walked.

"So where's this secret headquarters?" Sokka asked as they came to a stop, facing the water.

"Under the water, I think," Jet replied.

"There's a tunnel right there near the shore," Toph said, pointing blindly to their right.

She turned and walked in that direction, whistling. Then she came to a halt, dropped into a crouch and earthbent the entrance to the tunnel up above the surface of the water. They walked down the thin platform to a round earth disk. This, Toph slid to the side to reveal a ladder that led down into the depths of a dark hole. One at a time, they each slid down the ladder, landing on a platform. Beneath the platform was a flight of stairs.

At the foot of the stairs, they all stopped, hiding in the shadows as a Dai Li agent walked by. It was then that Ellie realized that they're group looked really bulky. With Jet, Smellerbee, and Longshot they're group now numbered eight and they were spread halfway up the staircase to remain hidden.

Once the tunnel was clear, they alighted at the foot of the stairs and walked down the dark hallway.

"It's all starting to come back to me," Jet muttered quietly, skirting the walls and passing an open door. Inside it were a bunch of women and one Dai Li agent.

As Ellie neared the door, she heard the Dai Li agent say, "I'm Joo Dee, welcome to Ba Sing Se." They repeated his words and he continued, "We're so lucky to have our walls to create order."

Once again they parroted what he said and Ellie, last in line, finally got a glimpse of the room. They kept walking and Jet told them, "I think there's a cell down here large enough to hold Appa."

He led them to a stone door, where they stopped, telling them the cell was through there. Toph opened the door for them and they stepped inside. Initially, it was pitch black inside, but as they walked into the room, the lights cut on and the door slid closed behind them. The teenagers looked up to see dozens of men hanging from the ceiling like bats, Long Feng among them.

"Well that's something different," Sokka commented in surprise.

"You have made yourselves enemies of the state," Long Feng said harshly. "Take them into custody."

The Dai Li dropped down, landing in a circle around them. Instantly, Ellie jumped into action, grinning as she kicked a fire blast at the two men nearest to her. They toppled to the ground before they could even get a punch in. Meanwhile, another agent shot both of his earth gloves at the other side of the group. Toph stopped them both and raised two pillars, knocking two men into the walls.

Jet turned and took the two men to Ellie's left, blocking their gloves with his swords and tripping the men with the twin hooks. Aang airbent one man away from him while earthbending a platform beneath another. Long Shot was firing arrows at another two men, who were blocking nearly every arrow with slabs of earth. Ellie stood at his back, shooting fire and air at another two men while simultaneously trying to trip them with a long whip of water.

Two Dai Li shot their gloves at Sokka and Katara, who blocked them, but it soon became apparent that it was a distraction as the two siblings found themselves being dragged backwards. Toph immediately came to their rescue, earthbending a huge slab up from the ground to stop Sokka and Katara from being dragged further. The two men shot a course of earth at her, which she bent into a pillar to shoot herself up.

The two agents brought themselves up as well, launching directly towards Toph. Another two jumped onto the walls, bending long horizontal pillars toward Toph with the intent of crushing her. Toph deflected the first two men with rocks the size of twin heads, and then jumped up to avoid being crushed, landing on the pillars. She deflected the second two men as they slid towards her. Then, she let out a cry of surprise as a glove grabbed her from behind.

In midair, Jet grabbed her with one hook and pulled her away from the man. Long Shot jumped in front of him, shooting an arrow, deflecting the man's rock. As two more agents jumped in front of the first, Ellie's whip caught onto the foot of the man in back, slinging him against the wall. She quickly replaced the water in its pouch and used a combination of a move she had learned from Zuko, and one from Aang. She grabbed the two men's' hats, flipping over them and slamming their heads into the ground.

They let out groans and jumped back up as Aang ran over. He blasted them out of his way with a gust of air, shouting, "Long Feng is escaping!"

He and Jet ran after the head of the Dai Li. Two more agents ran up and Toph shoved them away with a chunk of earth while Ellie and Katara stopped the two men who Aang had shoved to the side. Together, the girls bent streams of water out of their pouches, lifted the two men up in a tower of water, and Katara froze it, encasing the men in ice.

"I'm out of water!" Katara cried.

Without thinking, Ellie tossed her friend her waterskin with a shout of, "Take mine!" before running and shooting fire at a couple of Dai Li.

OA

The Avatar's bison growled at Zuko, who had his broadswords unsheathed. The fluffy creature was shackled to the wall and floor with heavy iron chains. It continued to growl, but Zuko paid it no attention.

"You're mine now," he said.

Then, he turned as the door opened behind him, letting in a rectangle of green light. Zuko turned around and readied his swords for a fight. Instead, he saw Iroh standing there, closing the door behind him. Zuko's swords dropped.

"Uncle?" he asked in surprise at the sight of him.

"So, the Blue Spirit," Iroh commented, crossing his arms across his chest. "I wonder who could be behind that mask."

Zuko sighed and pulled the mask off.

"What are you doing here?" he asked.

"I was about to ask you the same thing," his uncle replied in a harsh tone. "What do you plan to do now that you've found the Avatar's bison? Keep it locked in our new apartment? Should I go put on a pot of tea for him?"

He looked past his nephew at the giant beast that still crouched, growling.

"First I have to get it out of here," Zuko told him.

"And then what?" Iroh shouted. "You never think these things through! This exactly what happened when you captured the Avatar at the North Pole. You had him, and then you had nowhere to go!"

"I would've figured something out!"

"No! If his friends hadn't found you, you would have frozen to death!"

Zuko growled and turned away.

"I know my own destiny, Uncle," he muttered.

"Is it your own destiny?" the old man asked. "Or is it a destiny that someone else is trying to force on you?"

"Stop it!" Zuko shouted, growing confused. "I have to do this!"

"I'm begging you, Prince Zuko," Iroh pleaded. "It's time to start looking inward and begin asking yourself the big questions. Who are you, and what do _you_ want?"

With a yell, Zuko threw down his swords. There, they clattered and his shout echoed all about him. Now thoroughly confused, Zuko had no idea what he wanted anymore.

OA

Out of the original thirty or so men, only six remained, still attacking in pairs. The two that Ellie was battling must have been Long Feng's personal bodyguards, because they were the most competent fighters so far. They managed to block Ellie's fire blasts and got in a few rocks that struck their target. Ellie was beginning to tire when finally the others had finished off their own opponents and came to her aid.

Together, the six remaining teens took on the two Dai Li agents, pushing them out of the room until they fled. Then, they all ran in the direction Long Feng, Jet, and Aang had went.

"They're this way!" Toph shouted.

The others followed as she led them to an earthen door, which she earthbent. The door opened to reveal Aang sitting at the side of Jet, who was laying on his back on the ground, looking to be in pain.

They all ran to join Aang, standing or crouching all around Jet. Katara quickly used some of Ellie's water to try to heal Jet. She put the glowing water to his chest, moving it around a bit before withdrawing and saying, "This isn't good."

"You guys go and find Appa," Smellerbee told them. "We'll take care of Jet."

"We're not leaving you," Katara said tearfully.

"There's no time," Long Shot said, causing the others to look at him in surprise. "Just go. He's our leader. We'll take care of him."

"Don't worry Katara," Jet said in a quiet, but strong voice. "I'll be fine."

He managed a half-hearted smile and Katara's eyes teared up. Still, she stood and the five of them turned to leave. As they walked towards the exit, Toph whispered, "He's lying."

They came to the next large cell where they saw broken shackles and clumps of white fur. Although the signs that the bison had once been there were evident, Appa himself was not there.

"Appa's gone!" Aang exclaimed. "Long Feng must have beat us here!"

"If we keep moving, maybe we can catch up with them," Sokka suggested.

Without stopping to think, the children ran out of the room, back towards the nearest exit: a ladder that led straight up into a tunnel that ran parallel to the surface. Without bothering with the ladder, Toph bent the ground beneath them up to the tunnel. They alighted and ran along it as Toph tilted the ground beneath them up to where it touched to surface. They reached the end of the tunnel, which was closed in by a circular disk. Toph punched straight through the disk and the five of them ran out, through ankle deep water, onto the land.

Behind them, Dai Li agents seemed to appear by the dozen, jumping out of the tunnel.

"You think we can outrun them?" Sokka asked Aang.

"I don't think it's gonna matter!"

They looked back ahead to see Long Feng and six men standing before them. Another six lined the steep earth banks of the lake while another ten ran behind them. The men that stood before them earthbent a large wall to block their way. The ones behind them did the same.

They were completely surrounded with nowhere to go but into the water.

The five children stopped short, unsure of what to do next. Then a white lemur suddenly flew down to Aang's shoulder, chattering excitedly. They all looked at him, and then back to Aang, who asked, "What is it Momo?"

Momo continued chattering, launching himself off of Aang's shoulder, flying past Long Feng, and disappearing into the sky above. Then, a spec appeared before the sun, growing larger and larger until they could make out that it was not a speck, but a flying bison.

"Appa!" Aang cried.

Appa flew towards them, ramming straight into Long Feng's wall, over the heads of his friends, and through the wall behind them. Men and large boulders flew into the water as Aang and Toph slid forward, using earthbending to propel the men to their right into the water as well.

As Long Feng picked himself up out of the rubble, Appa flew straight for him. Panicking, his men ran away. Nevertheless, the man held his ground and growled, "I'll deal with you myself."

He jumped forward, kicking at the air to summon a rock, but before he could complete the move, Appa clamped down on his leg with two sets of strong molars. Long Feng struggled, trying painfully to remove his leg, but he was stuck. The bison then reared back, twisting his head, before tossing the man into the water. Long Feng skipped on the water three times before sinking below the surface with a splash. Appa spit out his shoe.

"Appa!" five young voices cried as Team Avatar threw themselves on the great shaggy beast.

Ellie smiled through Appa's fur as she heard Aang mutter beside her in a choked voice, "I missed you buddy."

Appa's eyes closed contently and he gave a soft groan of happiness. Just as Aang predicted, that evening they rode out on top of the bison.

* * *

 **Hope you liked the chapter, although it doesn't stray very far from the original. The main important bit is that Ellie is forgetting more and more of the show as time is changing. Funny how that works, isn't it? Anyway, please review if you enjoyed!**

 **~LittleMissMycroft**


	28. Part 2: To Convince the Earth King

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: the Last Airbender**

* * *

 **Chapter Sixteen: To Convince the Earth King**

After they flew off the shores of Lake Laogai, Team Avatar landed on an island in the middle of the lake to plan their next course of action. While Aang was rubbing and exclaimed over Appa, Ellie, Katara, and Sokka stood in a triangle of action while Toph sat beside Katara listening with curiosity.

"Look," Sokka was saying. "We escaped from the Dai Li and got Appa back. I'm telling you, we should go to the Earth King now and tell him our plan. We're on a roll!"

"One good hour after weeks of trouble is not much a roll," Katara disagreed.

"We can build on it," Sokka persisted. "If we want to invade the Fire Nation when the eclipse happens, we need the Earth King's support."

"What makes you think we'll get it?" Toph asked. "I don't know if you've noticed, but things usually don't go that smoothly for our little gang."

"I know, but I've got a good feeling about this," Sokka added with a smile.

"Sokka," Katara sighed. "Long Feng is in control of the city. His conspiracy with the Dai Li is too powerful. I say we just get on Appa and fly away from this horrible place."

"I'm with Sweetness," Toph agreed. "I've seen enough of this city, and I can't even see!"

"But now that we have Appa back, nothing's stopping us from seeing the Earth King," Aang pointed out, popping up beside Sokka.

"See Aang's with me!" Sokka grinned. "It's the whole reason we came in the first place. We have to try."

They all turned to look at Ellie.

"It's two against two," Aang said. "What do you think?"

Ellie folded her arms and said confidently, "We know the Dai Li will be dogging our steps, but there are ways to convince the Earth King. I think we should go for it."

"Then it's settled," Sokka said, wandering over to Appa.

They all climbed on his back and looked out over the water. In the distance, they saw small sailboats meandering across the water.

"That must be the Dai Li searching for us," Katara commented.

"We'd better leave," Ellie said quickly.

"Yip, yip!" Aang exclaimed, and Appa took to the sky.

Aang steered him straight for the center of the city. The other four lay on their stomachs, gripping Appa's fur.

"Can we please get a new saddle?!" Toph shrieked. "Riding bareback is terrifying!"

"Where would we even get one?" Ellie shouted.

"If nothing else," Aang replied, "we can figure out what the sandbenders did with our old one!"

They looked back down at the ground to see that they had made it into the Upper Ring.

"There it is," Sokka said, pointing to large grounds. "That whole thing is the palace. The Earth King's chambers should be in the center."

"We have to be careful," Katara warned them. "Long Feng's probably warned him that we were coming."

"Why do you think that?" Sokka asked. "If you ask me—"

But he was instantly cut off as Appa swerved to the right to avoid a large rock that had just been shot at them.

"What was that?!" Toph asked, clutching at Appa for dear life.

"Long Feng definitely warned the Earth King!" Ellie cried.

"More in-coming!" Sokka shouted.

Appa dipped down and to the left, the right, and then straight on as more rocks sailed past. One came up on their left, and without even flinching Aang punched it into a million pieces. Another flew right over their heads, and the next Aang sliced in half with his staff.

As they neared the palace proper, Appa dropped lower to the ground and Aang jumped down in front of a large troop of soldiers. The earth beneath him buckled and rose out in a shock wave, knocking all of the men over. Appa touched down on the ground and growled at the general, who fell off his ostrich horse and crawled away.

The others jumped off of the bison and began running after Aang down the main pathway. Men jumped out on either side pulling head-sized cubes of earth out of the ground and preparing to strike. As they fired, Aang and Toph set off, using earthbending to deflect the cubes. Aang hit them with his staff while Toph bent them away and used slabs of earth as shields. Meanwhile, Katara was knocking the men on the right out with water whips, and Ellie took out the men on the left with streams of fire.

All the while, Katara shouted as she hit men and winced, "Sorry!"

They looked forward to see dozens of guards rushing toward them from the palace. Quickly, Toph raised her arms and brought them down with a jerk, flipping over all of the earth tiles beneath their feet, trapping them from the waist down.

"Sorry," Katara shouted as they ran past, "we just need to get through to see the Earth King!"

As they continued on, lines of soldiers filed in rows past the bridge. Two guards at the first landing of steps bent large stone statues off of the platform and down towards the children. Together, Toph and Aang bent the ground around them up over their heads in a protective tunnel of sorts, holding fast as they heard a loud crunch as the statue struck home.

Katara was the first out of the tunnel, bending a steam of water out of the little creek into ice for her to slide from one side to the other. She then used that water as defense, letting it soak around her arms and pulling men off the first landing into the water. As the others ran or (in Aang's case) flew over the bridge, the Avatar used his staff to freeze the water, trapping the guards in it.

The others caught up to Katara and froze as rocks soared down towards them. They looked up to see hundreds of men sailing down from the palace doors, looking like hundreds of ants that ran out of an upset bed. Immediately, Toph ran forward, holding her arms up in the air with her fingers splayed apart. She stayed like that for a long second, the ground began to shake, and then brought her arms to her waist in a quick jab. All of the stairs were pulled down, creating one long, flat, slick slope towards them.

Aang stepped up to join her and the two of them bent the ground beneath the group's feet up the slope as men fell down on either side of them.

"Seriously, we're actually on your guys's side!" Sokka shouted.

Ellie airbent a few men over to the side as they almost fell onto their platform multiple times until they reached the top.

"Sorry!" Sokka exclaimed as the last man fell past them.

Finally the platform came to a halt and they alighted on the second landing—the one that the palace doors were on. More men flooded towards them on either side and Toph and Aang bent two great slabs of earth out of the ground, pushing the men away from them.

"In there!" Sokka shouted, pointing towards the hall that led to the inner part of the palace.

They set off running again and Ellie clutched her side—why did they have to run so much? She wasn't given much of a breather as they ran into a room, halting slightly when a bunch of guards ran towards them from all directions. Toph used pillars to slam each one of them into the ceiling.

"Toph!" Sokka shouted to the blind girl. "Which way to the Earth King?"

"How should I know?" Toph cried, creating a few slabs that knocked a few more men away. "I'm still voting we leave Ba Sing Se!"

She brought her arms up and down in a rolling motion, creating a hump of earth that spun towards another guard. Ellie ran up, still panting heavily, and torched some men away as Sokka ran off to check all of the doors in the vicinity. Katara and Aang soon joined in, using a mixture of water, air, and earth to fight. It seemed like the more men they took out, the more reappeared. Earth was piling up in great piles and slabs stuck up at odd points in the room as they continued to fight. There were scorch marks on the ground and walls, left by Ellie.

Finally, the guards stopped coming and they defeated the last ones. Sokka climbed over a great pile of earth they had created to check the last door.

"Now that's an impressive door," he said to himself. "It's got to go somewhere."

The others watched as he jumped over the peak of the pile, disappearing from view. Aang then used air to propel Katara over it while Toph bent herself over with earth. Ellie and Aang then hopped up the pile and flew over, using airbending to go farther. They landed to see Sokka pushing on the door with all of his weight, his feet sliding out from under him.

Aang spun his glider a few times, kicking up a gust of air, and directed it at the fancy doors, which blew off their hinges. Sokka, who had still been leaning up against the door, flew forward a few feet with the doors and fell flat on his face.

"A little warning next time?" he called behind him as the other four ran to where he sat.

He hopped to his feet and they all brandished their different weapons—Sokka held his machete aloft, Katara pulled her water out of her pouch and held it in a defensive stance, Aang brandished his staff, Toph summoned a piece of earth, and Ellie lit a fire in her palm. They looked forward to see a young man sitting in a throne with a large statue of a platypus bear crouching over it and silk curtains hanging above that. To his right stood Long Feng, and a whole row of Dai Li stood before them.

"We need to talk to you!" Aang shouted, whipping his glider behind his back.

"They're here to overthrow you," Long Feng told the king.

"No!" Sokka dissented. "We're on your side! We're here to help."

"You have to trust us!" Katara exclaimed.

"You invade my palace," the Earth King said angrily, coming to his feet, "lay waste to all my guards, _break down_ my fancy doors, and you expect me to _trust_ you?!"

"He has a point," Toph told them.

Ellie's eyebrow twitched dangerously.

"If you are on my side," the young man continued, "then drop your weapons and _stand down_."

All five of the children gave him dirty looks, but nevertheless dropped their weapons at their feet, Katara stowed her water back in her pouch, and Ellie reluctantly extinguished her flames.

"See?" Aang asked with an overly cheesy smile. "We're friends, your earthiness!"

The king wasn't smiling back. Long Feng raised his hand in a signal, and the Dai Li shot earth towards the children, trapping their hands behind their backs. They all let out cries of surprise and Aang's hands twitched in their secure. Long Feng smirked at them and it took every ounce of self-control Ellie possessed not to start spewing fire out of her mouth.

"Detain the assailants," Long Feng ordered, and the Dai Li flew towards them.

"But we dropped our weapons," Sokka said as the men grabbed them from behind. "We're your allies!"

"Make sure the Avatar and his friends never see daylight again," Long Feng continued.

At these words, the Earth King looked from him to the teenagers in surprise.

"Wait," he said slowly, pointing to Sokka. " _You're_ the Avatar?"

"No, he is," Sokka said, jerking his head towards Aang.

"Over here!" Aang called, raising his hands—the earth-cuffs that had been trapping them before broke apart and flew around him until he put his hands back together.

"What does it matter, your highness?" Long Feng asked. "They are enemies of the state."

"I suppose you're right," the young king said slowly. He paused as his pet bear walked up to Aang, snuffling in his face and licking his bald head, receiving a giggle. "Though Bosco seems to like him. I'll hear what he has to say."

"Well, sir," Aang replied, stepping forward, "there's a war going on right now. For the past one hundred years, in fact. The Dai Li's kept it secret from you. It's a conspiracy to control the city, and to control you."

"A _secret war_?" the king asked incredulously. "That's crazy!"

"Completely," Long Feng agreed.

"Long Feng didn't want us to tell you," Aang continued, "so he stole our sky bison to blackmail us. And blackmail is the least of his crimes. He brainwashed our friend—"

"All lies," Long Feng said, turning to face the king. "I've never seen a sky bison, your majesty. Frankly, I thought they were extinct."

"Your claim is difficult to believe," the Earth King said heavily, sitting back down on his throne. He looked troubled. "Even from an Avatar."

"These hooligans are from an anarchist cell that we've been tracking for weeks," Long Feng said quietly into the king's ear. "If you listen to them, you are playing right into your own destruction."

The Earth King's troubled look increased and his brows deepened.

"I have to trust my advisor," he said finally, looking back up at Aang.

At these words, an agent of the Dai Li stepped forward, pulling Aang back to his friends. The five of them were turned around and they hardly took a few steps before Sokka's voice interrupted, saying, "Wait!" he had turned around and was looking at the king. "I can prove he's lying.

"Long Feng said he's never seen a sky bison, right? Ask him to lift his robe."

"What?!" Long Feng snapped. "I am not disrobing."

The king gave him a suspicious look and Aang grinned at Sokka, finally caught on to the older boy's plan. Sokka nodded back at Aang, who promptly sucked in a ton of air and blew it back out, causing Long Feng's robe to fly above his head.

"Right there!" he cried, catching a glimpse of the markings on his leg. "Appa bit him!"

"Never met a sky bison, huh?" Sokka asked with a wide smile.

"That happens to be a rather large birthmark," Long Feng muttered, pushing his robe off his face and smoothing it down. "Thanks for showing everyone."

"Well, there is no way to prove where those marks came from," the Earth King said slowly.

"Sure there is!" Sokka exclaimed.

Appa, who was just past the large earth crater they had created, was brought in and Aang pointed from his open mouth, where dozens of white molars gleamed, to the molar shaped markings on Long Feng's leg. The man in question was looking very displeased as he held up his robe.

"Yup, that pretty much proves it," the king stated. "But this doesn't prove the crazy conspiracy theory—though I suppose this matter's worth looking into."

Long Feng gave them all a dark look before slinking out of the room, the Dai Li following him.

OA

"So this is a train," the king said as he stood in the middle of a car, surrounded by his guards. Their fellow passengers gaped at him. "I didn't realize it would be this…public."

"So you've never been outside the Upper Ring, before?" Katara asked.

"I've never been outside the palace," the young man replied, looking out the window. "Now that's the way to travel!"

He pointed to where Aang flew on Appa, parallel to the train.

"So, where are we going, exactly?"

"Underneath Lake Laogai, your kingliness," Sokka replied, "to the Dai Li's secret headquarters. You're about to see where all the brainwashing and conspiring took place."

OA

They got off the train and walked towards the lake. Ellie had an uneasy feeling in her stomach, and she whispered to Sokka, "It's not gonna be there. The Dai Li have had tons of time to get rid of it. We should have just taken him to the drill."

"Don't kill my positive vibes!" Sokka hissed in return.

They both turned to where Toph had bent up the old tunnel, only this time it was cracked and broken.

"It's gone," she said.

"Oh, don't tell me—" Sokka cut off and forced a smile. "That's okay, I've still got my positive attitude!"

"The Dai Li must have known we were coming and destroyed the evidence," Katara observed.

"That seems awfully convenient," the king muttered.

"Look if anything, this proves we were right even more!" Sokka exclaimed hopefully.

"Long Feng was right," the Earth King pronounced, turning away, "this was a waste of my time."

"But if we were part of some hit-team that wanted to destroy you," Ellie said, stepping forward to block his way, "we would have killed you by now. We're out here all alone, and with four benders—two of them being Avatars—we could easily overpower your guards."

The Earth King stopped and looked down stubbornly.

"Just come to the Outer Wall with us," Sokka said. "Then you'll know we've been telling the truth."

Still looking down, the king said, "No Earth King has ever been to the Outer Wall. You're wasting my time."

The guards grabbed Ellie and let go only after the king passed by. Thinking quickly, Sokka ran forward and shouted, "If you come with us, this time you get to ride on Appa!"

OA

The Earth King let out a terrified yell, clutching Appa's fur tightly with both fists.

"First time flying?" Toph asked him.

"It's both thrilling and terrifying," he said with a nod.

"Yeah, I hate it too," she said with a smile.

"I have to be honest with you," he added, "part of me really hopes that what you're telling me about this war…isn't true."

"I wish it wasn't," Aang muttered.

Behind him, Ellie couldn't help but agree. If this war didn't exist, then maybe she could be with Zuko. They wouldn't be on opposite sides of the war—which, being an Avatar, they definitely were.

They flew over fields and country. The fields stopped and they passed over a few small mountains, and then as soon as they were over fields again, they could see the Outer Wall. As they went over, Aang cried, "It's still there!" pointing to where the drill had been walled off. The earth sludge had dried, leaving white stains all up the wall and around the ground.

"What is _that_?" the Earth King gasped.

"It's a drill," Sokka responded. "A drill made by the Fire Nation to break through your walls."

Aang took them in a circle, back around to the wall, where they landed. There, the Earth King slid off the bison and looked down at the drill, resting his hands on the side of the wall.

"I can't believe I never knew," he murmured.

"I can explain this, your majesty."

They all looked up to see Long Feng standing before them, backed by two Dai Li agents.

"This is nothing more than a construction project," he said.

"Really?" Katara asked skeptically, as she had been there when this "construction project" was wreaking havoc on the city's armies. "Then perhaps you can explain why there's a Fire Nation insignia on your ' _construction project_ '."

The king looked down at the insignia, and then back up at his most trusted advisor. The expression on his face was deadly

"Well it's important, of course," Long Feng said. "You know you can't trust domestic machinery." He looked at where they all stood, looking at him with hostile expressions. "Surely you don't believe this _children_ , instead of your most loyal attendant!"

The five children looked from him to the king, who looked from them to the Head of the Dai Li. Then, his expression hardened.

"Dai Li," he ordered. "Arrest this Long Feng. I want him to stand trial for crimes against the Earth Kingdom."

Team Avatar gaped at the king, and then looked over at Long Feng. Ellie didn't miss the brief hesitation, nor the look that the two men shared before dragging Long Feng backwards. All the while, the man was shouting protests and threats, but they no longer held any weight as his power was stripped away.

"It looks like _Long Feng_ is _long gone_!" Sokka shouted in delight, laughing and wiping his eyes. "Heh, oh yeah, I've been _waiting_ to use that one!"

OA

"I want to thank you, young heroes," the Earth King said to them that night, once again sitting on his throne. "You've opened my eyes. All this time what I thought was a great metropolis was a city of fools. And that makes me the King Fool…We're at war—with the _Fire Nation_."

"That's why we came to Ba Sing Se, your highness," Sokka said seriously. "Because we think you can help us end the war."

"We don't have much time," Aang said. "There's a comet coming this summer. It's energy will give the firebenders unbelievable strength. They'll be unstoppable."

"But there is hope," Sokka explained. "Before the end of the summer, there's a window of opportunity. A solar eclipse is coming. The sun will be completely blocked out by the moon, and the Fire nation will be left helpless."

"What are you suggesting, Sokka?"

"That's the day we need to attack," Sokka continued. "The day of Black Sun."

"I don't know," the young man said hesitantly. "That would require moving troops out of Ba Sing Se. We would be completely vulnerable."

"You're already vulnerable!" Sokka exclaimed. "The Fire Nation won't stop until Ba Sing Se falls. You can either sit back and wait for that to happen, or take the offensive and give yourself a fighting chance."

They all looked at the Earth King hopefully as he pondered over the boy's words.

"Very well," he finally said, "you have my support."

The four of them cheered happily and Ellie eyed them with amusement, her arms crossed and eyebrow raised.

"Your majesty," they turned to see an Earth Kingdom official walking towards them. "I apologize for the interruption."

As he reached where they stood, he did a full kowtow. As he did so, the Earth King explained, "This is General How. He's the leader of the Council of Five, my highest ranking generals."

General How sat up and said, "We searched Long Feng's office. I think we found something that will interest everybody."

They were lead to Long Feng's office where a man went off to a shelf, returning with a small, locked box. As he set it down on the table, the General explained, "There are secret files on everyone in Ba Sing Se, including you kids."

"Secret files?" Aang asked.

The king opened up the box and pulled out a scroll, reading aloud, "Toph Beifong."

He handed the scroll to the general, who handed it off to Toph, who passed it to Katara.

"It's from your mom," she summarized. "She's here in town and she wants to see you!"

"Long Feng intercepted our letters from home?" Toph asked rhetorically. "That's just sad."

"Aang," the Earth King said, handing another scroll to the bald monk.

"This scroll was attached to the horn of your bison when it arrived in the city," General How explained.

"It's from the Eastern Air Temple," Aang said after opening and scanning the document.

Katara looked to the general.

"Is there anything in there for me and Sokka, by any chance?" she asked hopefully.

"No, I'm afraid not," the young king replied, looking through the scrolls.

The two teenagers looked down in disappointment and Sokka mumbled softly, "Oh."

"But there is an intelligence report that might interest you," the general told them, handing her another scroll.

Sokka peered over her shoulder and the two of them scanned it together.

"A small fleet of Water Tribe ships?" Katara read aloud.

"That could be Dad!" Sokka exclaimed.

"Protecting the mouth of Chameleon Bay…led by Hakoda! It is Dad!"

They both looked to each other in excitement.

"I'll think we'll leave you kids to it," General How said.

The Earth King nodded to him and the two of the went out of the office. Once they were gone, Toph asked Katara to read her letter to her. They all sank into sitting positions in a pentagon and sat listening to Katara read Toph her letter, or reading their own scrolls. Once she was done, she handed the letter to her friend who clutched it to her chest.

Aang finally finished his own letter and exclaimed, "I can't believe it! There's a man living in the Eastern Air Temple. He says he's a guru!"

"What's a guru?" Sokka asked. "Some poisonous blowfish?"

"No a spiritual expert," Aang explained. "He wants to help me take the next step in the Avatar journey. He says he can teach me to control the Avatar State."

"That's great, Aang!" Katara exclaimed. "Ellie could use that too. I'm sure it would come in handy for both of you."

Ellie looked up, lifting her head off her knees at the sound of her name. The sound of being able to control her Avatar State did sound very appealing.

"And I can't believe we know where our dad is now," Katara continued.

"I know what you mean," Toph agreed. "My mom's in the city. And from her letter it sounds like she really misses me!"

"This is all such big news," Sokka said happily. "Where do we even start?"

"I hate to say it, but I think we should split up," Katara suggested.

"What?" Aang asked, his smile falling. "Now? But we just got Appa back and got the family back together!"

"You and Ellie both have to meet this guru, Aang," Katara said, looking at the both of them. "If we're going to invade the Fire Nation, you guys need to be ready."

"And I'll definitely need to start learning earth by then," Ellie put in. "I can't just go with bending only two elements."

"We'll do that as soon as we get all this done," Toph promised her.

Ellie nodded in return.

"And if I'm going to the Eastern Air Temple," Aang said slowly, "Ellie, Appa, and I can drop you off with your dad at Chameleon Bay!"

"Someone has to stay here with the Earth King and help him plan for the invasion," Sokka said and got to his feet. "I guess that's me."

"No, Sokka," Katara dissented. "I know how much you want to see Dad. I'll stay here."

"You—are the— _nicest_ —sister—ever!" Sokka exclaimed, doing a small little dance and hugging her with joy.

"Easy, Big Brother," she said, pushing him off of her. "Though, you're right. I am."

OA

The next morning they all walked down the steps of the palace to where Appa was ready to take them off. Katara and Toph were both petting Appa, saying their last goodbyes, and Ellie stood leaned up against the great furry beast beside Katara. Aang walked over and smiled at the two of them (mostly Katara). Suddenly Sokka flew over and put his hand on both Ellie's and Aang's shoulders.

"All right!" he cried. "Who's ready to go on an adventure?!"

Ellie gave him a pained look and Aang laughed.

"Aang, Ellie, and Sokka," said a voice behind them. The three turned to see the Earth King smiling at them. "Have a safe journey. Ba Sing Se owes you many thanks. We look forward to your return."

The three of them bowed to him.

"Your highness," said a soldier, walking up. "There are three female warriors here to see you. They are from Kyoshi Island."

"That's Suki!" Sokka squealed, falling off of Appa's horn.

"You know these warriors?" the Earth King asked.

"Oh, yeah," Sokka replied, standing with a grimace. "The Kyoshi Warriors are great friends of ours. Trustworthy too."

"Then we shall welcome them as honored guests," the young king stated.

At that, Aang turned to climb up onto Appa.

"Wait, Aang!" said Katara.

Ellie turned back and eyed the palace warily. She had that same uneasy feeling she had had early the day before by the lake. This time, she couldn't quite place it. Frustrated, Ellie tried to scour her memory for what was supposed to happen next, but all she knew was that it wasn't good. She caught sight of the Earth King, who had just turned to leave.

"Wait!" she exclaimed.

He stopped and looked at her.

Searching for words, Ellie finally went with her instincts and said, "These plans are top secret. Should they be leaked, it could be disastrous. Don't talk to anybody about this even if it's someone we trust. Only us, you, and the Council of Five should know."

The Earth King nodded, giving her an odd look. Then he turned, walking away.

At the same time Ellie was talking to the Earth King, Aang stopped and turned as Katara threw herself onto him in a hug, giving the side of his head a kiss. Ellie walked back as they separated and turned to Toph, who muttered, "I'm really gonna miss you guys!"

Katara, Ellie, and Aang hugged her, agreeing that they would too. They looked over at Sokka, who was eyeing them warily, and then promptly moved over to hug him too. Not wanting to be left out, Momo flew over, landing on Sokka's head.

"Great," he said. "That's enough!" They didn't break off. "Okay, we love each other…seriously."

He patted their heads awkwardly and Toph, who was on the outside finally let go. The all separated. Ellie and the two boys climbed up on Appa.

"Yip, yip!" Aang shouted, whipping the reigns.

With a grunt, Appa rose into the air and the other two girls waved after them as they flew into the distance. Ellie watched them until they were tiny specks. They flew out over the walls of the palace and the three of them made themselves comfortable, preparing for a long journey. Sokka laid out on his back longwise and Ellie sat beside him, with her feet tucked under her.

They passed over fields, ponds, and estates; which slowly blended into more and more houses. Then Appa soared into the Middle Ring. Ellie turned, looking down at the clean houses, and smiled as a young child waved up at them. They soared even higher and directly over the Lower Ring, passing through the largest district. It looked even more cramped from up high, like someone had taken a whole bunch of Legos and stacked them disorderly in very close quarters. Finally they passed over the inner ring, making it to the fields, Lake Laogai, the mountains, and then the Outer Wall.

As they soared away from Ba Sing Se, Sokka said, "See? A little positive think works wonders. We got the king on our side, we got Long Feng arrested, and when we get back, Suki's waiting for me."

This last part he almost said to himself, smiling dreamily. Ellie laughed at him as Aang muttered to himself, "Yeah, girls are waiting for us." She thought wistfully of Zuko, who was somewhere in the city behind them.

"Thanks positive attitude," she mumbled with a half-smile.

"Everything will work out perfectly now," Sokka said. "From now on, and forever!"

Aang smiled back at the two of them.

OA

By the time they had made it out of the city, Toph had walked to the address her mother had left for her. She breathed in and let it out slowly, trying not to feel too nervous. Then, she stepped forward and knocked on the door. At the second knock the door swung open slightly, and the blind girl opened it the rest of the way.

She walked in, calling, "Hello? Mom? Anyone home?"

She came to a stop in the center of the room, stretching out with her bending to find her mom. Toph did not find her, instead she felt two forms standing above her. Finally realizing something was wrong, Toph turned around and let out a gasp as she could hear the air whistling—something was falling towards her. The small girl let out a cry as she realized it was too late to run. She felt the metal clasp of a metal cage close around her.

"Hey! Who do you think you're dealing with?" she asked in a weak voice, feeling the sides of the box.

"One loud mouth brat who stray too far from home."

Toph's eyes narrowed at the familiar, but unwelcome voice—it was Xin Fu.

OA

Three girls in green dresses, wearing lavish makeup, strolled down the walkway to the palace. Dozens of palace guards stood on either side and the king himself was there to welcome them.

"In our hour of need, it is with the highest honor I welcome our esteemed allies, the Kyoshi Warriors!" he cried.

Azula, princess of the Fire Nation, bowed at his feet, her two friends following suit. Lifting her face to him, she said, "We are the Earth King's humble servants."

* * *

 **Aaand here's another chapter for you guys. Hope you enjoyed it. And hopefully Long Feng will listen to Ellie's advice...**

 **~LittleMissMycroft**


	29. Part 2: Do You Fear Him?

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: the Last Airbender, nor do I own The Legend of Korra.**

 **I apologize for not having updated in over a month. I've been really busy ever since July started up. But good news-In the time I haven't been updating, I have entirely finished this fanfiction! I'm going to try to get the rest of it posted these next couple of weeks, assuming I'll have time. So, just to warn you, I'll probably be posting multiple chapters at once.**

 **Now, onward to the chapter!**

* * *

 **Chapter Seventeen: Do You Fear Him?**

"You haven't seen your dad in over two years! You must be so excited!"

Sokka nearly hurled into his hand before saying, clutching his stomach, "I know I should be, but I just feel sick to my stomach."

"Don't be nervous!" Aang exclaimed. "He's gonna be so happy to see you!"

"Besides," Ellie added. "Would you turn down your son after learning he had travelled across the world to see you?"

Sokka smiled at them.

"So what about you two?" he asked in return. "Are you nervous to meet this guru?"

"Not at all," Aang replied. "I'm ready to master the Avatar State. I'll do whatever it takes."

They both looked at Ellie, who had been oddly silent on the matter.

"Well?" Sokka queried. "What about you?"

"I don't know," she said slowly. "I'm pretty nervous."

"You'll do fine," Sokka said reassuringly before sliding off of the sky bison and waving at them as Aang said—

"See you in a week!" The boy cracked the reigns with a quick, "Yip, yip!" and they were off.

Sokka then turned towards the beach where blue boats and tents stood out amongst the sand. With a deep breath, he walked off of the hill Appa had landed on towards the strip. As he passed by tents and familiar men, they all stopped to look at the young Water Tribe man that had walked into their midst. Then, in a moment the tense silence was gone as they surrounded him with mirthful cries of "Sokka!" They embraced him and one man ruffled his hair so hard it pushed him down slightly. With a smile, the teenager stood tall.

The young man looked past them to the large tent where he knew his father would be. His kinsman parted, moving out of his way as he took a step forward, slightly wary. Then, as if on automatic, he walked forward and slid through the tent flaps.

There he saw Hakoda sitting at the front of a map, a serious look on his face and a hand resting on his chin. He was so intent on their planning that it took a nudge from one of the others to make him look up. When he did his face split into a smile and he came to his feet.

"Sokka," he said warmly.

"Hi, Dad," the boy returned.

OA

"General Fong's base will serve as the launching point for the attack," General How said. He bent a set of Earth Kingdom pieces across the map to a set of Fire Nation ones, to demonstrate the motion the troops would be traveling in. "In exactly two months, the army and the navy will invade the Fire Nation on the day of Black Sun."

At the movement, Momo pounced on the boar, knocking over all of the pieces.

"Or we can send Momo in to do some damage!" Katara laughed, before sobering at the serious looks she received from the Council of Five. "Sorry."

General How used a short gesture of his hand to straighten the pieces, scaring the lemur, who returned to Katara's shoulder.

"All we need is the Earth King's seal to execute the plan," he said, setting a scroll with the plans on the rim of the map and bending a chunk of it towards Katara.

She picked up the scroll and replied, "I'll get these to him right away."

OA

As they entered the mountain range that the Eastern Air Temple was located, Aang explained to Ellie about the temple, his people, and his culture. Ellie listened with only half an ear, struggling with her emotions. She felt afraid—perhaps overly so—that it would be impossible to master the Avatar State. At this thought, she would instantly berate herself and try to believe that that wasn't true. But the truth was, this whole business wasn't very definite to begin with.

It was the first instance ever recorded that there were two Avatars at once. Sure, _Aang_ could master the Avatar State. Hundreds of men and women before him had done so. But for Ellie, she was the first. She knew that the spirit that acted as her core was a lot more tumultuous, unpredictable, and wily than Raava, the Light Avatar's spirit. What if Vaatu somehow tricked Ellie into doing something horrible before she could master him? Or what if he was just too strong to control?

Ellie ran her hands down over her face, pulling the muscles down into a grotesque-looking position before letting go.

"Ellie?"

"Huh?" Ellie asked, snapping upright as she was pulled out of her thoughts.

"Have you been listening at all?" Aang asked her.

"Uh…" she trailed off.

"Don't worry," Aang reassured her, knowing her nervousness was why she couldn't concentrate on anything. "You're an amazing person. I'm sure you can master it. How hard can it be?"

Ellie grimaced, not replying. The sad fact was, Aang just didn't know exactly how hard it could be to master the spirit of darkness and chaos. For that matter, neither did Ellie.

"Look!" Aang suddenly cried out, pointing to a group of mountains ahead of them.

On top of three peaks was perched an enormous temple, which gleamed orange in the light of the setting sun. There were archways and turrets, trees and greenery. The buildings themselves looked ancient and cracked, and all around them were layers of clouds. One layer rested around the mountains beneath the lowest levels of the temple, and the other was just above their heads. It was so close, in fact, that Ellie could reach up a hand and touch them.

However, just as she thought of doing so, Aang snapped the reigns and brought Appa down towards the temple, scouring for a place to land. After spotting the guru on a flat circle, sitting out in the center of a meditation circle, Aang landed on the path just below him and looked up. The guru in question, Guru Pathik, could sense that his pupil had landed. What he did not expect was the presence of another being—one that also had a very strong presence of a spirit, much like the young Avatar.

"Hello?" a young boy's voice called. "You're Guru Pathik, right? The person who attached the note to Appa's horn?"

He asked this as he began to climb the steps up to the platform and Ellie followed cautiously behind.

"Indeed," the man said, finally opening his eyes and coming to his feet. "I was a spiritual brother of your people and a personal friend of Monk Gyatso. And speaking of friends," he paused with a smile. "I see you brought one yourself."

He placed his hand on Ellie's forehead and another at her collar bone. Closing his eyes, he examined her spiritual signature more closely. Ellie stood their nervously, wondering what the man was seeing.

"You have much turmoil inside you," he said to her, his eyes still closed. "I can feel the presence of a spirit within you, latched to your bending. Tell me, does he scare you?"

Ellie backed away, not answering. The guru's hands fell and his eyes opened once more.

"I see," he replied. "It seems I have another pupil."

"So you'll teach her to master the Avatar State too?" Aang asked as the guru sat once more, seeming to be thinking. At his nod, Aang continued by asking, "How?"

"You must gain balance within yourself before you can bring balance to the world," the old man explained. As he spoke, Aang sat across from him. Ellie hesitated before doing the same. She folded her legs and rested her hands on her knees. "And the first step to bringing balance is this," the guru finished, pulling two bowls out from behind his back.

Ellie took it and looked at the foreign yellow substance with a grimace. Aang, however, took his and instantly poured it in his mouth. Then, he promptly spat it out on Ellie.

"Ugh," he muttered. "It tastes like onion and banana juice!"

Ellie made a face and used waterbending to remove the liquid from her clothes and hair.

"That's because it is!" the guru explained, pointing to his bowl. "Yum, yum!"

The two children blinked at him.

OA

A cart drove up to a fork in the dirt road, driven by two men. They were both earthbenders, and atop the cart sat a great metal cage, held down by many chains. The cart kept ahead, taking the path on the left.

"I believe we need to go right!" Master Yu exclaimed.

"What are you talking about?" Xin Fu snapped, pulling the cart to a stop. "The Beifong Estate is this way!"

"I'm quite certain you're mistaken."

A loud banging resounded from within the metal cage.

"Hey!" Toph shouted, continuing to bang on the wall of her prison. "Can you two old ladies quit your bickering for a second? I've got to go to the bathroom!"

"Oh," Yu said, pulling the key out of his pocket. "Uh, okay, but make it quick!"

Xin Fu grabbed his wrist as he made his way to get to his feet and shouted, "What's wrong with you?!"

"Oh, very sneaky, Toph!" Yu said, putting the key away and sitting back down. "Nice try, but you can't trick me!"

"Let me outta here so I can kick both your butts!" Toph yelled, continuing to bang on the metal.

"Yell all you want," Xin Fu barked, "but even you can't bend metal!"

As he whipped the reigns and Toph felt the cart bump into motion, she reached forward and put her hand on the metal, feeling its cold, smooth surface.

OA

Night had fallen on the city of Ba Sing Se. Little lights spilled out of the buildings and onto the ground below. One of these buildings was a rather large suite in the Upper Ring, reserved for great allies of the city. At the moment, it was housing who the entire city thought to be the Kyoshi Warriors.

"We have been presented with an extraordinary opportunity, girls," Azula said, pacing through their apartment as her two friends wiped off the horrid make-up the Kyoshi Warriors wore.

"Mai finally gets to wear makeup that's not totally depressing?" Ty Lee guessed.

"Ha, ha," Mai muttered sarcastically.

"I'm talking about conquering the whole Earth Kingdom!" Azula told them. Both their heads snapped towards her in surprise. "For a hundred years, the Fire Nation has hammered away at Ba Sing Se from the outside. But now, we're on the inside. And we can take it by ourselves."

"Gosh," Ty Lee said admiringly. "You're so confident! I really admire that about you."

"From the inside, we're in perfect position to organize a coup and over throw the Earth King. The key is the Dai Li. Whoever controls the Dai Li controls Ba Sing Se."

OA

Back at the Eastern Air Temple, Aang and Ellie followed the guru to a spot where pools of water glistened in the moonlight.

"In order to master the Avatar State, you must open all the chakras," Guru Pathik told them, motioning to the pools with his stick. "Aang, tell us what you know about chakras."

"What are chakras?" he asked, rubbing his eyes tiredly.

"Oh, I see," the guru muttered, realizing that Aang had not received much spiritual training before his disappearance. "I guess we'll start with the basics." He turned to the pools. "The water flows through this creek much like the energy flows through our bodies. As you see, there are several pools where the water swirls before moving on. These pools are like our chakras."

"So chakras are like pools of spiraling energy in our bodies?" Aang asked.

"Exactly!" Guru Pathik exclaimed. "If nothing else were around, this creek would flow pure and clear. However, life is messy and things tend to fall in the creek. And then what happens?"

"The creeks can't flow?" Aang asked.

"Precisely," the old man praised. "But if we open the paths between the pools—"

With his stick he moved a clump of debris that blocked the path between two pools. Quickly, it washed down the creek, opening it up a lot more.

"The energy flows!" Aang observed.

Ellie stood there, watching the debris flow down the creek in silence—she had yet to say anything.

"There are several chakras that go up the body," Guru Pathik explained, leading them away from the pools. "Each one has a specific purpose, and can be blocked by a specific kind of emotional muck." They drew to a stop in front of a cave. "Be warned, this is an intense process, and once you begin you cannot stop until all seven are open. Are you ready?"

Ellie and Aang shared a look.

"I'm ready," Aang said.

"You first then," the guru said in a chipper voice. "After you."

He motioned to the cave and Aang climbed inside. Then, the guru led him toward the back to begin the process. Ellie sat outside nervously. She could hear their voices echoing out, but she could not tell what they were saying. Finally, Aang reemerged.

"How was it?" she asked, leaping to her feet.

"Not that bad," Aang replied. Then, he added, "He's waiting back there for you."

Ellie clambered up into the cave and made her way over to the guru, who sat on a rock at the back. She placed herself on the large rock across from him and crossed her legs.

"First we will open the earth chakra, located at the base of the spine," the old man began. "It deals with survival, and is blocked by fear. What are you most afraid of? Meditate on it."

Ellie closed her eyes and instantly a vision of Vaatu flew into her mind. She could see the first Dark Avatar, Unalaq, hurt people. She could see the dark spirit himself wreaking havoc. Then, he flew towards her, grabbing her arms and slowly pulling her closer.

She let out a yell, trying to struggle against his grasp—it was no use. He was already a part of her. Then, a voice penetrated her mind.

"Ellie," the guru said. "Your vision is not real. You are concerned for your survival but you must surrender those fears. Let your fears flow down the creek."

"I can't!" Ellie gasped, continuing to struggle in her mind's eye. "He's got me. He's got me and I can't escape."

"He is a part of you," the guru said calmly, "as much as you are now a part of him. He does not have to control you. Let go of him and he will let go of you."

Ellie slowly relaxed, taking a deep breath. Then, as she exhaled, Vaatu's grip on her relaxed and he was buffeted away from her. Then, her eyes opened and she slumped tiredly.

"You have opened your earth chakra," the guru told her.

Ellie grimaced.

OA

They continued to move to different spots to open the chakras. Each time Aang went first, and then Ellie. Ellie had a feeling that it was much easier for him than it was for her. Each time he returned, smiling, before sending her in.

The second chakra she opened was the water chakra. As they did so, they sat beneath a waterfall, which soothed Ellie somewhat.

"This chakra deals with pleasure," the guru had explained, "and is blocked by guilt. Now, look at all the guilt which burdens your soul."

Ellie closed her eyes. With the constant sound of water, she took a deep breath before asking herself—what was she guilty of?

"I lied to them," she said, thinking of how she had been lying to Zuko, to the GAang, and even to herself. Then, her focus shifted to all those fights where she came out grinning like a lunatic. "I enjoyed causing pain."

"Accept that these things happen," the guru said to her. "You made a mistake, and you know that. Now, you will not make it again. Forgive yourself."

Ellie took a deep breath, inhaling and exhaling, and forgave herself. All the memories she was guilty of dissolved like water.

Next, they sat on a ledge, watching the sun rise.

"Third is the fire chakra, located in the stomach," Guru Pathik explained. Ellie watched the sky silently as he continued. "This chakra deals with willpower and is blocked by shame. What are you ashamed of? What are your biggest disappointments in yourself?"

Ellie closed her eyes, meditating on this. Suddenly, a barrage of images flooded her mind.

"I'm a coward," she muttered, her eyes scrunched together. "I'm afraid of myself."

"There is nothing to be afraid of," the guru advised her. "You have already let those fears go. There is no longer a need to be afraid. Besides, fear is not what makes you a coward—it's how you react to that fear."

Ellie looked at him before closing her eyes again and taking a deep breath, letting the shame wash away.

OA

"This bay leads directly to Ba Sing Se," Hakoda explained to Sokka as Bato helped fill a tangle mine. "We've been using these tangle mines to stop Fire Nation ships from getting through."

"Your father invented tangle mines himself," Bato said.

"Destructive," Sokka observed. "Buoyant, and—" he smelled it—"terrible smelling!"

"Very perceptive," his father praised. "The mines are full of skunk-fish and seaweed. When a ship detonates the mine, the seaweed tangles up the propeller. The foul smell forces the people to abandon ship! I call it the Stink-and-Sink."

Sokka laughed uncontrollably and said between gasps, "Good one, Dad!"

Bato rolled his eyes towards the heavens. "You are definitely your father's son," he muttered.

"Hakoda!" a man ran up. "Our scouts have spotted four Fire Nation ships!"

"Bato," Hakoda ordered. "Get these mines loaded up. The rest of you men, prepare for battle."

The men all nodded and ran off. Still sitting in the sand, Sokka looked around hesitantly.

"Uh," he mumbled, "what should I do, Dad?"

"Didn't you hear me?" the man asked in return. "I said, 'The rest of you men prepare for battle'!"

Sokka's face was split into a wide smile as he nodded and hopped to his feet, running to join the other men.

OA

"Who thought when we came to this city as refugees, that I'd end up owning my own tea shop?" Iroh asked as he and Zuko stood viewing their new shop. "Follow your passion's, Zuko, and life will reward you."

"Congratulations, Uncle," Zuko said with a sincere smile.

"I'm very thankful," Iroh said.

"You deserve it," his nephew exclaimed. "The Jasmine Dragon will be the best tea shop in the city."

"No," the old man said. "I'm thankful that you decided to share this special day with me. It means more than you know."

"Now, let's make these people some tea."

"Yes!" the tea loving man exclaimed. "Let's make some tea!"

OA

Mai sighed, leaning against a pillar of the royal palace as she watched Ty Lee do her morning stretches.

"I'm tired of wearing this girly disguise," she muttered. "I don't know how anyone can fight in this."

"Maybe that's why it was so easy to defeat the Kyoshi Warriors and take their clothes!" Ty lee exclaimed.

"How much longer do we have to serve the Earth King?" Mai asked. "If I have to clean up another piece of bear poop, I'm gonna throw up."

"Princess Azula promised we would go back to the Fire Nation as soon as we capture the Avatar," Ty Lee said, looking at Mai through her back bend. "Just be patient."

"Shush up!" Mai hissed, coming to her feet. "Do you want the whole palace to know we're Fire Nation?"

"Sorry," Ty Lee muttered.

After sticking out her head, Azula walked up to them.

"Good work, girls," she said. "I am sure the Dai Li will deliver the message."

OA

The fourth location was at a pavilion. At first Ellie waited down the flight of stairs on a platform while Aang opened the next chakra. Then, they switched. Ellie once again sat in front of the guru, prepared for an inner battle. Behind her sat a large statue of an air nomad woman.

"The fourth chakra," the guru told her, "is located in the heart. It deals with love, and is blocked by grief. Lay all your grief out in front of you."

Ellie closed her eyes and her old home came to her mind, her family all sitting at their kitchen table. _Her seat was empty and so was her father's. He stood behind her mother, who was sobbing into her hands. The two eldest of Ellie's brothers sat on either side of her and patted her arms._

" _Where could she be?" her mother asked, her shoulders wracked with sobs._

" _I'm sure we'll find her," Ellie's dad reassured her._

" _It's been_ months _," the woman protested._

 _The youngest boy burst into tears, not understanding why his mother was upset, and not knowing why he couldn't see his sister again. Ellie started forward to pick him up, to comfort him, but found her feet were stuck in place. She looked down to see water running over them, and then suddenly she plummeted down and found that her head broke the water._ Her eyes snapped open and she saw that she was sitting across from the guru once more.

"You have been ripped from the life you knew," the guru observed as Ellie closed her eyes once more in pain, "to find yourself here, where nothing makes sense. You miss your family dearly, but love is a form of energy and swirls all around us. Your family's love for you has not left you. It is still inside of your heart and is reborn in the form of new love."

A whole bunch of people replaced the vision of her family—Iroh, Zuko, Katara, Toph, Sokka, and even Aang. She loved them all dearly in different ways for different reasons. They were the only reason she had not fallen into despair—they were her new family.

"Let the pain flow." Ellie wiped the tears streaming down her face, which was now smiling peacefully. "Very good."

Ellie opened her eyes.

Next they went to a very large chamber and the guru told her, his voice echoing up the walls, "Fifth is the sound chakra, located in the throat. It deals with truth and is blocked by lies. The ones we tell ourselves."

" _I think I'm from the future," Ellie replied to Aang as they flew towards Gaoling. "I've been here long enough that I'm a bit fuzzy on some of the details, but I remember roughly what'll happen before Sozin's Comet."_

 _The other three gaped at her._

" _So you might be a future version of me!" Aang exclaimed._

"Why did you let him believe that, I wonder?" the guru asked.

"Because I wanted it to be true," Ellie replied, her eyes still closed.

"You cannot lie about your own nature," Guru Pathik told her. "You must accept that you are the _other_ Avatar—the Dark Avatar. Even though the spirit within you is dark, you can still control it and be what you want to be."

Ellie once more took a deep breath, a vision coming to her mind. It was of the yin and yang symbol. One half was Vaatu and the other half was Ellie's own soul—in complete balance. She breathed out and opened her eyes slowly.

"Very good, Ellie, you have opened the chakra of truth."

"The sixth chakra is located at the forehead. It deals with insight and is blocked by illusion."

Ellie listened to his words with closed eyes and a memory came to her mind.

" _In the swamp," Huu informed them, "we see visions of people we've lost. People we loved. Folks we think are gone. But the swamp tells us they're not. We're still connected to them." The almost familiar face of the monkey-man came to Ellie's mind as the man said his next words: "Time is an illusion and so is death."_

"Time is an illusion…" she repeated, reflecting on how she now theorized she was from the future.

"Yes," the guru replied. "But the greatest illusion is that of separation. Things you think are separate and different are actually one and the same. You are connected to this spirit—making one whole new spirit. Your spirits are not separate, but are in fact intertwined with each other. And the four nations—we are all one people with the same origins. Even the separation of the four elements is an illusion. If you open your mind, you will see all elements are one—four parts of the same whole. Even metal is just a part of earth that has been purified…"

OA

Meanwhile Toph was banging on the cage that held her, stretching out with her earthbending. She slammed the floor, the ceiling, and then the walls, feeling many flecks of earth within the metal. She punched the opposite wall, still feeling the earth.

"Come on, metal, budge!" she muttered through gritted teeth. Then, the flecks of earth were pushed out and, in turn, the metal as well. "Whew, Toph, you rule!"

And with that she dug her hands into the bent metal, slicing it apart.

OA

"What do you say, Momo?" Katara asked, coming to a stop in front of the new tea shop. "Some tea before we go see the Earth King?"

Momo chattered and Katara, not needed him to say yes, went inside. She paused as the two women at the door bowed and said, "Table for two please." Then, a voice brought her attention to the inside of the shop.

"Uncle! I need two jasmine, one green, and one lychee!"

"I'm brewing as fast as I can!"

At the familiar faces, Katara froze. Her eyes grew wide and, not thinking, she began to panic. Without further prompting, she ran from the room, out into the open sunlight, and didn't stop until she reached the palace. Inside the throne room she saw three small green-clad figures at the front of the room.

"Suki!" she exclaimed, running forward. "Thank goodness you're here! I just saw Prince Zuko and his uncle! We have to tell the Earth King right away!"

Katara drew to a halt close enough that she could make out the girls in front of her and began to realize that something wasn't right here…

"Oh, don't worry," said a smooth voice as the girl in front came to her feet and stepped out of the shadow. "I'll be sure to let him know."

Momo gave a shriek and flew off her shoulder as she finally realized that this was Azula—Zuko's sister. Quickly, she shifted into a waterbending stance and uncorked her pouch. However, she was not fast enough as Ty Lee flipped towards her and blocked her chi before she could bend the water in defense. She fell to the ground and the water rippled beneath her.

"So, Zu-zu's in town?" Azula asked, standing over her. "I think it's time for a family reunion."

OA

This time was different. Instead of dealing with them separately, the guru had both Ellie and Aang sitting on the roof of a temple building with him, the stars shining above them. Ellie took a long second to marvel at just how many stars could be seen—in her time she had lived on the outskirts of a city with too many bright lights to properly see the stars.

"This is the last chakra, isn't it?" Aang asked.

"Yes," the guru replied. "Once you open this chakra, both of you will be able to go in and out of the Avatar State at will, and when you are in the Avatar State you will have complete control and awareness of all your actions."

"Let's do this!" Aang replied excitedly.

Ellie smiled at him with amusement.

"The thought chakra is located at the crown of the head. It deals with pure cosmic energy, and is blocked by earthly attachments. Meditate on what attaches you to this world."

Both Aang and Ellie closed their eyes. While Aang saw visions of Katara, Ellie searched her mind for something that attached her to this world. The first thing that came to mind were her brothers—particularly the youngest one. But did he mean attachments of this world in her time or the present time?

Ellie was slightly confused and was about to ask when the guru said, "Now, let all those attachments go. Let them flow down the river, forgotten."

"What?!"

Ellie opened her eyes with a jump and looked at Aang as he exclaimed, "You want me to forget Katara?! But—but I _love_ her!"

"Learn to let her go, or you cannot let the pure cosmic energy flow in from the universe," the guru said patiently. Ellie watched, her own chakra forgotten.

"Why would I choose cosmic energy over Katara?" Aang retorted. "How can it be a bad thing that I feel an attachment to her? Three chakras ago that was a good thing!"

"You must learn to let go!" the guru stated strongly.

"I'm sorry, but I can't let go of Katara," Aang said.

"Aang, to master the Avatar State, you must open all the chakras. Surrender yourself."

"Okay, I'll try."

Ellie closed her eyes once more, deciding to find something from this world. Although she had not been there long, she had surely already formed some attachments. Surprisingly, the most prominent one that came to her mind was not Zuko, but her newfound powers. She had had them for a few months, and already she could not bear the thought of letting them go. She loved fighting, and she loved protecting those she loved, even if she almost feared the powers she fought with.

"Now think of your attachments and let them go."

Ellie struggled for a second, but relaxed and told herself that she had survived fourteen years without bending—she did not have to have it. She let out a deep breath and her desire for power was swept away.

"Let the pure cosmic energy flow."

Both of their eyes snapped open, glowing with their two different Avatar States. Aang's eyes and tattoos glowed a bluish white, and Ellie's eyes were a reddish orange. Side by side they sat, one the complete opposite of the other, and Guru Pathik could not help but wonder at the sight of it.

Ellie was almost about to step into the spinning orb of cosmic energy, finally ready to master the Avatar State when two things happened—the first was that a set of orange tentacles grabbed her from behind, dragging her backwards, and then a voice broke through her vision.

"Katara's in trouble!"

Ellie went limp, knowing it was no use to struggle, and was dragged backwards.

"No, Aang! If you go now, you will not be able to go into the Avatar State at all!"

The purple path beneath Ellie's feet melted away and she fell down into reality as her fear of Vaatu was reinstated. Her eyes snapped open to see Aang hopping away.

"I need to go after him," she muttered, and ran off.

The two of them climbed on Appa and flew away at high speed, heading for Chameleon Bay.

OA

Xin Fu pulled the cart to a stop at the sound of metal being sliced open and he and Yu ran to the back of the box. What they saw stopped them in their tracks—it was the box and it was indeed sliced open.

"It's another one of her tricks!" Yu hissed.

"There's a giant hole in the box!" Xin Fu exclaimed loudly. "How is that a trick?"

"It's not!" They turned to see the small form of Toph standing behind them in the darkened path. "It's the real deal!"

She propelled the two men into the box with a slab of earth and, using metalbending, she closed it behind them. Jumping on it and banging it with her heel, she exclaimed, "I am the greatest earthbender in the world, and don't you two dunderheads forget it!"

After they could hear her no more, Xin Fu looked at Yu, who was squashed into his back.

"I'm gonna be stuck in her with you, aren't I?" he groaned.

"I have to go to the bathroom," Yu whined, prompting the other earthbender to slam his head into the wall.

OA

"Ready to go knock some Fire Nation heads?" Hakoda asked.

The Fire Nation ships had finally drew into the bay, the mines were loaded, and the men were ready.

"I'll finally get to prove to you what a great warrior I am!" Sokka exclaimed with a nod.

"Sokka," Hakoda said softly. "You don't have to prove anything to me—I'm already proud of you. And I already know what a great warrior you are. Why else do you think I left you in charge of the village?"

Sokka nodded and allowed his father to guide him to the boat. Just as they were climbing the ramp, a sound stopped Sokka. At the sound of a bison's bellow he turned around, catching sight of Aang. Appa landed right in front of him and Aang looked down at Sokka with an urgent expression. Ellie's head peeked over the sky bison's side.

"This can't be good news," Sokka muttered.

Even as they flew away, he still looked down reluctantly at his father—he had been looking forward to that battle.

OA

"What is this about?" Azula exclaimed as the two Dai Li agents dragged her into a cell with a man she could only assume was Long Feng. "You cannot treat a Kyoshi Warrior this way!"

"But you're not a Kyoshi Warrior, are you, Princess Azula of the Fire Nation?" Long Feng asked.

At his words, Azula slumped.

"What do you want?" she asked defiantly.

"I want to make a deal," Long Feng said. "It's time that I gain control of Ba Sing Se once more. And you have something I need."

"Oh?"

"The Earth King's trust," the man replied.

"Why should I help you?" Azula asked.

"Because I can get you the Avatar," Long Feng replied.

"I'm listening," Azula said with a smile.

The man smirked at her, but he would not have been smiling if he knew he was playing right into her hands by participating in her game.

OA

"You won't believe this Zuko!" Iroh exclaimed, waving a letter at his nephew once they were in the privacy of their new apartment. "I've been invited to serve the Earth King!"

Zuko smiled after him as he ran off in excitement to mentally prepare himself.

* * *

 **There you have it! Hope you enjoyed. If you did, please review. I know it was a bit choppy-I was struggling to bring across what I wanted as well as covering everything that happened in the episode. Ellie's inner battle with Vaatu will be a prominent point in this story, and will be returning several times with full force. Next up: Crossroads of Destiny! Will contain season finale spoilers even though some things are obviously going to be different. Until next time...**

 **~LittleMissMycroft**


	30. Part 2: The Avatar State

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: the Last Airbender**

* * *

 **Chapter Eighteen: The Avatar State**

As Azula finished her speech to the Dai Li, she walked over to her two friends, who stood nearby watching. In her speech, she had talked to them about seizing the day—overthrowing the Earth King.

"If I sense any hesitation, any weakness at all," she finished as she came to a halt in front of her friends, staring a particularly shaky agent in the eyes, "I will snuff it out. Dismissed."

"Nice speech, Azula!" Ty Lee praised. "It was pretty and poetic, but also scary in a good way!"

She passed Azula a freshly poured cup of tea. The princess accepted it silently as Mai reminisced happily, "Yeah, I thought you were going to make that one guy pee his pants."

"There are still a few loose ends," Azula said with narrowed eyes. "My brother and uncle for one. Then there is the strange occurrence of two Avatars."

Her friends looked at her curiously.

"Did you learn anything about that from the Dragon Bone Archives?" Ty Lee asked, referring to her friend's quick trip to research before they had set out in the drill.

"Sadly, no," Azula replied, "and the Archives are the best source of information in the world." She paused, tapping her lips thoughtfully. "Nevertheless, when the time comes, we shall just have to get rid of both of them. I sense that the girl can be a great danger—perhaps even more so than the air monk. I will take care of the boy. Mai, I trust you will enjoy getting rid of the girl?"

Mai's eyes narrowed as she remembered her friend mentioning how Zuko had seemed to be attracted to this strange girl.

"With pleasure," she all but snarled.

OA

"So what kind of trouble is Katara in?" Sokka asked as they soared back towards Ba Sing Se.

"I don't know," Aang replied. "In my vision, all I knew was that she needed help."

"It would be nice if your Avatar powers could be just a little more specific from time to time."

Suddenly the three of then stopped at the sound of faint rumbling.

"What's that?" Sokka asked, pointing to a small streak of dust on the ground beneath them.

Aang took Appa down and they flew beside the dust trail until they came to its head where Toph was using earthbending to travel quickly back to the city.

"Need a ride?" Sokka shouted over the whistle if air in their ears and rumble of earth moving.

With a cry of surprise, Toph lost her concentration and fell with great speed. Sokka, Aang, and Ellie all cringed. Aang brought Appa down to the ground and Toph climbed up onto the bison. Then, after she secured herself between Ellie and Sokka, Aang whipped Appa's reigns, causing him to fly off at top speed.

"So how did it go with the guru?" Toph asked curiously. "Did you two master the Avatar State?"

Ellie glanced quickly at Aang, who was staring off at the ground that passed below them.

"Uh…" he trailed off. Quickly, he snapped his head back up and said with a wide, fake smile, "It went great! I completely mastered the Avatar State!"

He looked back down, laughing nervously.

"Smooth," Ellie muttered quietly, leaning forward to where only he could hear her.

"Shhh!" Aang hissed. "What about you? I don't seem to recall you mentioning anything about finishing the process."

"That's because I never did!" Ellie snapped back, her voice quiet and laced with venom. "In case you didn't know, I was nearly done when you interrupted me with your pathetic weakness for Katara!"

"It's not pathetic!" Aang snarled.

"Whatever," Ellie crossed her arms and looked off to the side. She was still _very_ angry and blamed Aang for the fact that they were now flying to eminent death, neither of them having mastered the Avatar State. She, of course, had left out the fact that she might not have mastered it on her own anyway—how could she, with Vaatu holding her back with a vice-like grip?

Meanwhile, Sokka was looking at the Outer Wall of Ba Sing Se and talking to Toph. Both were completely oblivious to Ellie and Aang's most recent spat.

OA

"Many times I imagined myself here," Iroh said as he and Zuko walked towards the imposing building before them, "at the threshold of the palace, but I always thought I would be here as a conqueror. Instead, we are the Earth King's personal guests, here to serve him tea. Destiny is a funny thing."

"It sure is, Uncle," Zuko replied with a smile.

The had reached the doors of the palace and were ushered into a viewing room, where people often met with the Earth King. Iroh laid out his things on the low table that was situated in the center of the room, pouring tea into each of the cups. Then, he and Zuko sat silently, waiting for their host to arrive.

"What's taking so long?" Zuko asked after a few minutes.

"Maybe the Earth King overslept?" Iroh suggested.

Suddenly Dai Li agents filed into the room, blocking their view of the ornate throne that sat atop a raised dais, and completely surrounding them.

"Something's not right," Zuko muttered as the came to a halt, the throne coming back into view.

"It's tea time," came a smooth voice, confirming Zuko's suspicions.

His head snapped up and he came to his feet, observing his sister.

"Azula!" he muttered in an accusatory tone.

"Have you met the Dai Li?" she asked, an innocent look on her pale, round face. "They're earthbenders, but they have a killer instinct that is so _firebender_."

As she said this last sentence, her eyes flashed, and her eyebrows came down in a wicked expression, making her look as deranged and demented as their father.

Next to Zuko, Iroh remained seated and calm. He lifted his cup of tea off the table and sipped it serenely. He came to his feet with a smile and a wink.

"Did I ever tell you how I got the nickname, the Dragon of the West?" he asked, holding his cup. The only outward sign of fight or flight that Zuko could find in his Uncle was that his tea cup was now steaming once more.

"I'm not interested in long anecdotes, Uncle," Azula sighed, examining her nails.

"It's more of a demonstration really."

His smile turned into a smirk and Zuko's mouth twitched up as he caught on his uncle's plan. As he took a sip of his tea, Zuko ducked behind him and assumed a ready stance. Iroh, meanwhile breathed fire out of his mouth like a dragon, meeting the oncoming Dai Li agents with a burning onslaught.

As soon as he blasted a hole in the wall, Zuko jumped out and ran down the hallway. His uncle caught up, his nose still smoking. They turned the corner just as pellets of earth slammed into the wall behind them. By then, Iroh had passed the teenager and blasted a hole in a second wall with his fist and a mixture of fire and lightning. Seeing that it led out, he jumped down, landing on a large piece of shrubbery.

"Come on!" he shouted up to Zuko. "It's safe."

"No!" Zuko called down. "It's time I faced Azula!"

Iroh had the decency to smack his face in exasperation before he ran off, prepared to save Zuko's hide—for he was sure his nephew would not escape an encounter with his sister.

"So dramatic," Azula said to her brother. "What, are you going to challenge me to an Agni Kai?"

"Yes, I challenge you!" Zuko shouted.

"No thanks!" Azula retorted and Zuko realized he had made a mistake as the Dai Li began their attack.

OA

"Katara's fine," the Earth King assured Aang. "You have nothing to worry about."

"But, in my vision, I felt so sure that she was in trouble," Aang told them.

"Well, she met with the council of generals to plan the invasion," Kuei informed the young boy, "and ever since, she's been of with your friends, the Kyoshi Warriors."

"See, Aang?" Sokka said. "She's with Suki! They're probably back at our apartment right now, talking about make-up or something."

Aang hesitated.

"Believe me," the Earth King consoled them. "If there was any danger at all, Bosco's animal senses would sense it."

The lazy bear lifted a head at the sound of his name.

As they walked back towards Appa, Aang muttered with a downcast look, "I was so sure—"

"Have you ever thought that that might have just been a vision with the pure intent of tempting you away from mastering the Avatar State?" Ellie asked him.

At the look she received, it was evident he had not.

She shook her head and blasted herself up with a mixture of fire and air, landing expertly on Appa's back. The others followed and they flew back to their apartment. Even with the Earth King's reassurances and Ellie's input, all of them were nervous to get back. Appa landed and they spilled off his back, hurrying through the door.

"Momo!" Aang exclaimed happily as the lemur flew towards them.

Toph walked forward and stood silent for a moment.

"There's no one else here," she said.

"Katara _is_ in danger!" Aang cried. "I knew it!"

"Oh, no," Sokka moaned.

"There's someone at the door," Toph interrupted, pointing to the slab of wood behind them. There was a knock and the other three turned to look at it with a jump. "Actually, I know who it is! It's an old friend of mine."

She walked forward and opened the door to reveal Iroh.

"Glad to see you're okay!" she said with a smile.

"I need your help," Iroh said solemnly.

"You guys know each other?!" Aang exclaimed, him and Sokka giving her confused looks.

"We bumped into him in the woods," Ellie informed them.

"After I knocked him down, he gave us some tea and some great advice," Toph added.

"May I come in?" he asked with a sheepish smile. Toph and Ellie both nodded. He sidled past them and shut the door behind him. "Princess Azula is here in Ba Sing Se."

"She must have Katara!" Aang deduced.

"She has captured my nephew as well," Iroh muttered.

"Then we'll work together to fight Azula," Aang finalized. "And save Katara and Zuko."

"Woah," Sokka interrupted waving his arms and pointing at Aang. "You lost me at _Zuko_."

"I know how you feel," Iroh pleaded, "but believe me when I say that there is good inside him."

"Good inside him isn't good enough!" Sokka exclaimed, waving his arms some more, this time directed at the old man before him.

"Katara's in trouble," Aang reasoned. "All of Ba Sing Se is in trouble! Working together is our best chance."

Sokka sighed and nodded.

Iroh smiled, walked to the door, and said, "I brought someone along that might be of some help."

He opened the door and the four children followed him onto the porch where a Dai Li agent was tied and gagged. Toph secured him further with two great slabs of earth and Iroh pulled off the gag.

"Azula and Long Feng are plotting a coup," the soldier said quickly. "They're going to overthrow the Earth King!"

"My sister!" Sokka shouted, brandishing his machete. "Where are they keeping Katara?"

"In the catacombs of Old Ba Sing Se, deep beneath the palace."

OA

In Zuko's defense, he thought he was being really patient. After being thrown down into a hole by the Dai Li, he sat through every single angry rant and ramble that the Avatar's girlfriend had thrown at him. He didn't respond angrily to her assumptions, stayed calm throughout her accusations, but still she paced back and forth in front of him.

"Why did they throw you down here?!" she shouted with suspicion. "Oh, let me guess, it's a trap. So that when Aang shows up to help me, you can finally have him in your little Fire Nation clutches."

Zuko said nothing.

"You're really horrible, you know that? Always following us, hunting the Avatars, trying to capture the world's last hope for peace! Heck you even tricked Ellie into thinking you were good!" Wait, did she say _Avatars_? There were _two?_ Who was the second one? Was there more than just two? Exactly how many Avatars were there? "But what would you know? You're just the Fire Lord's son, spreading hate wherever you go. You don't care how many hearts you break in the process."

Finally snapping, Zuko turned his scarred eye on the girl and said, "You don't know what you're talking about."

"I don't?!" Katara retorted in disbelief. "You have no idea what this war has put me through. Me, personally!" She turned away from him and bent down, putting a hand up to her mother's necklace, saying in a voice choked with tears, "The Fire Nation took my mother away from me."

"I'm sorry," Zuko said softly, looking at her with those yellow eyes. They were so like Ellie's, but at the same time they were so different. "That's something we have in common."

Katara's eyes whipped up to meet his in surprise, tears still welling in the corners.

OA

"Well what do you know?" Toph mused, her hand on the ground. "There _is_ an ancient city down there, but it's deep."

She straightened up and shoved her hands down and out in a scooping motion, creating a tunnel in front of her that angled steeply downwards.

"We should split up," Sokka said thoughtfully. "Aang, you go with Iroh to rescue Katara and the angry jerk, no offense."

"None taken," Iroh replied.

"—and I'll go with Toph and Ellie to warn the Earth King. I only hope we aren't too late."

So they split up. Aang and Iroh slid down into the hole in the ground while Ellie ran after Sokka and Toph back to the palace. They reached the bottom of the enormous steps and moaned slightly—it would take forever to climb those.

"Come on!" Ellie exclaimed, grabbing Sokka and dragging him behind her as she summoned a large amount of water out of the nearby pools and bent it in a large wave up the stairs. She sat atop the wave, still holding Sokka by the arm as he bounced and shrieked on the surface of the water below her. Toph slid alongside them on an earth elevator.

As they reached the last ten steps or so, Ellie ran out of water, dropped Sokka, and the three of them ran up to the top landing.

"There's General How!" Sokka exclaimed quietly, pointing to the man that was walking towards them.

They stopped, sensing that something was wrong. Then, Sokka grabbed both Ellie and Toph and dragged them over behind a pillar. Standing there, they watched as Dai Li dropped to the ground, surrounding the general.

"What is the meaning of this?" How asked as he was taken captive.

"You are under house arrest!" one of the men shouted.

"The coup has already started!" Sokka hissed. "We've gotta warn the Earth King!"

"Then come on!" Ellie whispered and they ran off into the palace. They went through the first room to the giant pair of fancy doors, which had been put back into place. Toph bent them open and hurriedly, they skidded to a halt in front of the Earth King, who sat on his throne with two girls dressed as Kyoshi warriors sitting at the foot of the dais.

"Thank goodness we're in time!" Sokka cried with relief.

"In time for what?" the poor king asked in confusion.

"Yeah, what are you in time for?" one of the girls asked, doing a tumble and coming up right in front of Sokka. "Cutie."

"Um, I'm kinda involved with Suki," he said nervously, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Who?" the girl, which Toph recognized as Ty Lee, asked.

Quickly, Toph used earthbending to propel the girl away from her friend.

"They're not the real Kyoshi Warriors!" she cried.

"Sorry to disappoint you," the other girl—Mai—quipped.

She threw a volley at Toph, who quickly blocked them. Ty Lee tumbled forward once more and Ellie shot a blast of fire at her, and then used air to spin Mai around until she was dizzy. Ty Lee dodged the fire and came up in front of Sokka, who tried relentlessly to knock her out with his club.

"Ooh," she said with a smile, "it looks like we're dancing together."

"This fight is over," a voice interrupted the scene.

Ellie looked up from where she had Mai pinned to the floor to see Azula holding the Earth King with a fire dagger pointed at his head. Ellie dropped her hold on Mai and while she and Toph were still, Ty Lee bounded over and blocked their chi. Toph and Sokka, who Ty Lee had already punched, fell to the ground, but Ellie managed to stay upright, attempting to blast fire everywhere still.

She fell to her knees and the last thing she saw was Mai grabbing her by her arms while the others were led out of the room.

OA

As a whole was punched in the wall and a small, yellow form slid into the chamber, Katara quickly forgot about Zuko and the vial of healing water she held in her hand. With a shout of, "Aang!" she flew forward, throwing herself on her friend, who eyed Zuko suspiciously through her hug. Zuko returned the glare as his uncle did the same to him.

"Uncle, I don't understand!" Zuko exclaimed, pushing away from Iroh. "What are you doing with the Avatar?"

"Saving you, that's what," Aang retorted, separating from Katara.

Zuko let out a growl and started forward, stopped by his uncle.

"Zuko," he said. "It's time we talked." He then turned to Aang and Katara. "Go and help your other friends! We'll catch up with you."

With a bow, Aang dashed off. Katara followed a bit more slowly, sparing once last glance at the banished prince as he looked away from her.

"Why, Uncle?" Zuko asked softly.

"You are not the man you used to be," the old man explained. "You are stronger, wiser, and freer than you have ever been! And now you have come to the crossroads of your destiny. It's time for you to choose. It's time for you to choose good."

OA

When Ellie came to, she realized that she was most uncomfortable. Her arms were raised above her head, and her legs were spread apart beneath her. Her neck had a horrible ache, as her head was hanging limply against her chest. There was a prickle on the back of her neck as something cold was pressed there.

"Good," came the monotonous, gravelly voice. "You're awake."

Ellie bared her teeth, not unlike a wild animal that had been provoked, and attempted to move. She looked up at her arms to see they were held tight by the wrists to the ceiling with chains that undoubtedly came from a Dai Li agent. Her feet were faring no better. Struggling, she growled, "Let me go and you'll see just how awake I am!"

"No _thank_ you," Mai said in her ever calm voice, circling around to stand in front of the Avatar. "I quite like you like this. Of course, I can't kill you just yet."

"Why _ever_ not?" Ellie snarled sarcastically.

"I have been given implicit instructions," Mai explained. "You see, if I just killed you now, which I want to—believe me—you would be born again. Azula thinks that you aren't much different from the other Avatar, so therefore I can't kill you. If you were born again, we would just have to go searching again and there would still be an Avatar to deal with. No, I have to kill you when you're in the Avatar State."

"Well then you'll be disappointed," Ellie snarked. "I can't access the Avatar State any more. It's been blocked until I deem it necessary to open again."

"Liar," Mai said quietly. "I'll make you go into the Avatar State somehow."

Ellie rolled her eyes. As the girl turned her back on her angrily, the Avatar twisted her head up to look at the chains that held her wrists. She knew there must have been some component of raw earth in them because the Dai Li could bend them. Although the girl had never earthbent before, she had seen enough in action that she figured she could do it. The only problem was that her arms were held so tight she couldn't move them enough to attempt to bend them. She tried moving her arms and gritted her teeth as she only succeeded in making the metal clasps cut into her wrists.

As Mai walked away, she quickly ran through her head the defenses she could use without her hands. Her feet weren't chained tight. She supposed she could kick up a fire blast if need be. Or bend air or fire out of her mouth. Now that she had a chance, she looked around the room she was being kept in—it was the throne room. She was chained a few feet in front of the throne and Ty Lee sat off on top of the bear to one side. Mai walked over to her bubbly friend and Ellie could see them conversing, though she could hear the words being discussed.

Then, without warning, Mai suddenly turned around and threw a knife straight at Ellie's face. Ellie blew out as hard as she could, closing her eyes. Then she slowly opened them to see that the knife was suspended in midair in a continuous stream of air. Though Ellie was still breathing out, she could tell she had a while before running out of breath. She changed the pressure in the air that she blew out, causing a little mini tornado with the dagger sitting atop it. Then, she sucked in, causing more air to roll over the knife, creating a perfect sphere of suspended air. All of this she did in under a minute, before either of the girls in the room could try to do something. Then, she sucked the tiny ball of air into her mouth.

Ty Lee ran over to her and punched her in the stomach. Ellie supposed the girl had hoped she could choke on the dagger, but instead it propelled out of her mouth in a gust of air that was knocked out of Ellie's lungs. It flew straight over her head and pinned Mai's sleeve with such force that it dragged her all the way to the back of the room and pinned her there.

"Thanks a lot," she muttered, pulling the dagger out of her sleeve and eyeing the hole it had created. "You'd better be glad I don't care for green."

"You don't care for any color," Ty Lee reasoned.

"Well that didn't work," Mai wheezed, walking up to where Ty Lee stood before Ellie.

"The only time we've seen the Avatar go into the Avatar State is when either he or his friends are in danger," Ty Lee said. "It has to work."

"You're right," Mai said. "Maybe we should try putting her friends in danger."

She motioned to a Dai Li agent, who nodded and walked out of the room.

"It won't work," Ellie said desperately. "I'm telling you, I can't access it at all. Besides," she smirked, "I'm the Dark Avatar. Even if I could go into the Avatar State—which I can't—you would have to rethink your strategy."

OA

"I need you, Zuko," Azula said to Zuko. "I've plotted every move of this day, this glorious day in Fire Nation history, and the only way we win is together. At the end of this day, you will have you honor back. You will have Father's love. You will have everything you want."

"Zuko," Iroh pleaded behind him. "I'm begging you. Look into your heart and see what it is you truly want."

"You are free to choose," Azula said, walking away.

What did Zuko, prince of the Fire Nation want? What did Zuko, the burned outcast, shunned by not only people from the Earth Kingdom but the Fire Nation as well, want? Did he truly want his honor back? Yes. The answer was yes. He wanted Ellie on his side. He wanted Azula on his side—most of all, he wanted his father to love him. Is this what it would take?

With a growl, he clutched his head. How could he betray his uncle? At the same time, how could he walk away from a destiny he had been wanting his entire life. Everything he had gone through up to his banishment prepared him for this moment.

He would make his father proud if it was the last thing he did.

Coming to a decision, Zuko ran out after Azula. Without even thinking, the first thing he did was blast fire in between the Avatar and his sister as he emerged from the tunnel. He hesitated as the three people before him froze. He kept his arms pointed at empty space, looking from his sister, who eyed him calculatingly, to the Avatar who silently pleaded with him. Then, he directed his fire at the Avatar, the only thing standing in his way.

Azula's calculating frown twitched into a smirk and Katara quickly met fire with water.

"I thought you had changed!" she shouted.

"I _have_ changed," Zuko replied.

OA

Toph leaned up against the metal wall of their cell across from the Earth King, who sat dejectedly beside Momo, looking righteously ashamed of himself. Sokka, meanwhile, stood at the door of their cell, peering through the bars.

"See any Dai Li agents nearby?" she muttered quietly.

"Nope," Sokka replied.

Toph leaned away from the wall, stretching and cracking her knuckles as she walked over to the door. Wordlessly, she moved Sokka out of her way before placed her hands on the metal cell door. Scrunching her fingers into the metal, she ripped the door clear off its hinges and threw it against the opposite wall.

"We need to find Ellie and get out of here!" she shouted, leading Sokka and Kuei out of the prison room.

"I'm not leaving without Bosco!" the king cried.

OA

So Ellie might have been bluffing. She was sure that seeing close friends being tortured or killed would be enough to send _anyone_ into the Avatar State. This was why she was really happy when she saw Toph and Sokka arrive with Momo and the Earth King—obviously of their own volition. They had no Dai Li agents trailing them, nor shackles or bonds. They came, much more free than Ellie herself was.

Ellie realized that she must have looked horrible to them. She was wearing her black sparring clothes that she had worn to the air temple, leaving bare arms and legs that were covered in abrasions from the battle, and cuts from Mai's multiple attempts to send her into the Avatar State, the most annoying one being the light graze at the back of her neck that had woken her up, which was dripping down her back. Her now long hair was a wreck, falling into her face as she had no hands to fix it.

"Thank goodness you're all right!" Sokka exclaimed at the sight of her.

Ellie attempted to blow the hair out of her face and muttered, "You couldn't have come sooner?"

Mai ran in front of Ellie, looking prepared to fight to the death to keep her prize. Ty Lee swung down beside her. They stayed like that for a second as Sokka and Toph eyed their opponents and vice versa, neither willing to make the first move. Then, Ellie broke the tension by bringing her legs up, kicking a fire blast at the unsuspecting Mai and Ty Lee from behind, and flipping over, bringing her fists to her side as hard as she could, using earthbending to snap the chains which were indeed held together by raw, earth links.

Ty Lee was the first to recover as Ellie ran over, grabbing Bosco. Toph quickly brought up the earth around the girl as she prepared to spring, encasing her up to her neck. Sokka ran forward as Mai came to her feet, swaying like grass in the breeze. Before she could find her bearings, Sokka hit her over the head with his club.

"Well that was easy," he muttered, looking around.

"We'd better get out of here while we still can," Ellie wheezed, rubbing her wrists, which were now bleeding. "This place is swarming with Dai Li."

"Then let's go," Sokka said, and they all ran to the doors as fast as they could, the bear loping along behind them.

They had hardly made it past the doors when Dai Li ran up from every direction. Toph stopped a few by turning the earth to their right to quick sand while Ellie shot a large, sweeping wall of fire to their left. Sokka threw his boomerang and knocked out three of the men in front of them, and Ellie whipped the rest in from over their heads. They then ran out of the palace completely with Ellie using a whip of water to cover their backs.

"Forget stairs!" Toph cried after they had gone down at least fifteen stairs and Dai Li were literally flying at them from every direction. She brought her hands down and flattened the stairs once more.

"Why did you do that?!" Sokka shrieked as they found themselves plummeting down.

"Well the Dai Li aren't fighting us anymore!"

And it was true. Any Dai Li that were around them had used earthbending to stop their decent and were watching the children slide down the really tall, really steep staircase.

"Yes but I would take captivity over death!" Sokka shouted.

"Oh, shut up!" Ellie groaned as they reached the bottom. She thrust her hand out underneath her, creating a large pillow of air that caught their fall at the last moment. They all bounced to the ground, hopped up and ran for dear life.

They finally reached where they had left Appa, who stood out against his dark surroundings, his white fur glistening in the moonlight.

"Where are Aang and Katara?" Ellie asked, running over to look down the pitch dark tunnel.

Just as they were prepared to slide in after the two, there was a splash behind them and they turn to see Katara flying out of a fountain, a limp form clutched in her grasp. She landed heavily on the ground behind them, rolling slightly and coming to a stop with Aang on top of her. Quickly, she sat up with wild eyes and cried, "We have to get him out of here!"

Using airbending, Ellie propelled Aang up onto Appa and they all climbed up after. As Katara sat beside Ellie, the blonde asked, "What happened?"

"He was in the Avatar State and then-then Azula, she—" Katara broke off in tears, not able to say any more.

Ellie nodded. Grabbing the reigns, she tugged on them and cried, "Yip, yip!"

Katara and Ellie sat together with Aang sprawled in Katara's lap. They were silent as the bison climbed higher into the sky. Ellie then grabbed Aang's wrist. It was still warm. Katara must have noticed too, or she was just determined not to lose her friend, as she bent Aang over her lap, uncorked the vial full of Spirit Water, and spun the glowing water in her hand. She slowly lowered her hand to press down on the wound in Aang's back and then she drew her hand away as the water receded into the wound and the entire thing glowed.

Still Aang showed no sign of movement and tearfully, Katara bent over Aang, crying again. Then, Aang's tattoos suddenly glowed and his eyes opened hallway for a second as he sat up, and then promptly passed out once more.

The group looked back down at the city as Appa passed over the Outer Wall one final time. Kuei stated the five words no one had dared utter, but all knew was true:

"The Earth Kingdom has fallen."

* * *

 **And that's the end of book two! Hope you enjoyed. Will be posting the first chapter of book three momentarily. Don't forget to R &R!**

 **~LittleMissMycroft**


	31. Part 3: Only 3,190 Miles to Go

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: the Last Airbender...**

 **In the third book, I tried to deviate from the original timeline just a little more than I had in book two. Just read and enjoy!**

* * *

 **Chapter One: Only 3,190 Miles to Go**

After Aang was attacked by Azula, very near death, healed by Katara, and then unconscious for _weeks_ ; Ellie found herself being thrust into the position of being in charge—well, semi-in-charge. She had been the one to fly Appa to Chameleon Bay immediately after the departure from Ba Sing Se. She had been the one to suggest that, when the bay was overrun by Fire Nation ships, they capture one instead of fight the whole fleet (because for some odd reason, all of the Water Tribe men were _really_ excited to just kick a bunch of Fire Nation butts).

Of course the rest of Team Avatar did quite a bit as well.

Katara was the one that watched after Aang, healing him and trying to get him to wake up. Sokka had the men plot a course for the Fire Nation, planning with his father everyday on a modified version of the invasion plan. Ellie remembered when Sokka had first pitched the invasion plan to everyone.

"You want to _what_?" Katara asked incredulously.

"You heard me," Sokka exclaimed. "I want to continue with the invasion plan."

"But… _how?_ " Katara questioned.

"Yeah, I don't know if you've noticed, but we no longer have an army to invade with," Ellie muttered.

"But we have the element of surprise on our side," Sokka said. They all gave him incredulous looks. "Just hear me out. All we need to do is gather a few people to invade. Dad said he'd be willing to help, so that's at least fifty people."

"Against the entire capital city of the Fire Nation," Katara muttered. " _That'll_ go over well."

"And then maybe we can get some men from the Northern Water Tribe, or the Foggy Swamp, and maybe that man that we met at the Northern Air Temple—"

"Whoa, whoa, _whoa_ ," Ellie interrupted. "What makes you so sure all these people will come to our aid?"

"I don't know," Toph said thoughtfully. "There are a _lot_ of people in the world that would be willing to fight the Fire Nation if given the chance."

"Exactly!" Sokka exclaimed. "Plus, they won't know we're coming _and_ everyone thinks Aang is dead! It's foolproof!"

So, just like that, the group finally accepted Sokka's invasion plan.

The days passed by as they continued to sail on the Fire Nation ship and Ellie remembered just how much she hated sailing. There was generally nothing to do and lots of time to do it. The only excitement they got was having to run under decks when another ship was spotted, but even then none bothered them. They were all too busy heading for Ba Sing Se.

Weeks passed until finally one day Katara told them that Aang was improving greatly—she expected he would be awake within the next week. Sure enough, that night there was a commotion outside Ellie's cabin. There were muffled shouts and the sound of running feet. Ellie peeked out of her door to see Pipsqueak and the Duke running by, shouting, "Hey! Wait!"

Ellie ran after them with a cry of, "What's going on?!"

"He's awake!" Pipsqueak exclaimed in return.

They made it up into the deck to find Aang, dressed only in his tattered air monk pants and bandages, surrounded by the others. Ellie realized how strange this must have looked to him: Katara and Toph, although wearing their own clothes from their respective nations, wore red cloaks. Sokka, Pipsqueak, and the Duke were all three wearing Fire Nation armor, and Ellie wore her red Fire Nation dress—an article of clothing she hadn't donned since the North Pole.

Sure enough, as soon as Sokka stomped forward in his heavy armor and hugged Aang, speaking with a muffled voice, "Aang! Good to see ya back with the living, buddy!"

"Sokka?" Aang asked in a faint, weak voice.

He began reeling back and Ellie didn't need Toph's warning to know what was coming next: Aang fell to the deck as he passed out, thoroughly confused. The next morning he awoke and the others explained to him what had happened since he was attacked—everything from the Earth going into hiding, to the modified invasion plan, to how they had passed through the Serpent's Pass a few days previous. All the while, Ellie began picking up subtle hints that Katara was angry at her father.

OA

"Your Princess Azula, clever and beautiful, disguised herself as the enemy and entered the Earth Kingdom's capital. In Ba Sing Se she found her brother, Zuko, and together, they faced the Avatar. And the Avatar fell, and the Earth Kingdom fell," Lo or Li said. Zuko wasn't quite sure which one—he never had been able to tell the creepy women apart.

"Azula's agents quickly overtook the entire city. They went to Ba Sing Se's Great Walls, and brought them down! The armies of the Fire Nation surged through the wall and swarmed over Ba Sing Se, securing our victory. Now the heroes have returned home. Your princess, Azula! And after three long years, your prince has returned. Zuko!"

Zuko walked out onto the balcony, pushing the scarlet curtain aside. Loud cheers erupted from the crowd below and Zuko looked down at them in wonder—they were cheering _him?_

OA

"He's gone!"

Ellie, Sokka, and Toph looked up from where they sat eating to see Katara standing in the doorway panting and wild-eyed.

"What?" Sokka asked.

"Aang," Katara wheezed. "We have to go after him!"

"Where did he even go?" Toph asked as the three of then cane to their feet. They walked up on deck and looked around, as though they half expected to see him.

"When did he leave?" Sokka questioned further.

"Im not quite sure," Katara replied, "but it must have been soon after we left."

"So he's had plenty of time to get pretty far," Ellie rationalized, thinking hard.

Sokka was thinking too. They could see it in his face. Suddenly, he pulled out one of their acquired maps of the Fire Nation. "He would be heading west," he said. "We're here-" Sokka pointed to a spot in the ocean—"ish…" he traced his fingers along west. "The nearest piece of land is this island here—the crescent island we visited on the solstice."

"He may not be there," Toph dissented. "He may just fly past it."

"He can't fly forever," Ellie pointed out, "but I may have a way to find him for sure."

"Do it," they said at once, without question.

Ellie nodded and sat down, taking up a meditative stance. She closed her eyes and let her spirit be free, detaching from her body. When she opened her eyes once more she was in her shimmering spirit form. Remembering how she willed herself back to Zuko's ship on the Winter Solstice, she scrunched up her eyes and silently willed to go to Aang. Instantly, she found she was flying up off the deck of the ship and into the fathomless sky. The blonde was going over the ocean, drifting through waves without feeling a thing.

Then she saw him, riding an enormous tidal wave, using a piece of driftwood as a surf board. It didn't help much, though Ellie could tell he was heading west for sure. She closed her eyes and saw a vision of him lying on the shore of the crescent island, his eyes closed, halfway in the water. Satisfied she knew where he was going, Ellie willed herself back to her body. It came into view and she let out a shriek as she hurtled toward it. The deck glowed an orange so bright that the others were forced to look away. There was a ringing silence.

Ellie opened her golden-green eyes.

"What happened?"

"What did you see?"

"Where is he?"

"The crescent-shaped island—we should take Appa."

And so they did. By the time the bison had reached the island, the sun was rising. They landed on the island, sliding off Appa's back and running over to where Aang lay on the ground. Momo was the first to make it, licking the Avatar's face and waking him up.

Pulling him into a hug, Katara cried, "You're okay!"

Ellie, Sokka, and Toph joined the hug, glad to see the kid was okay as well.

"I have so much work to do," Aang finally said.

"I know," Katara responded, "but you'll have our help."

"You didn't think you got out of your training by coming to the Fire Nation did you?" Toph asked. She paused and then pointed to Ellie. "And that goes for you too!"

Both Aang and Ellie smiled at her. They all came to their feet.

"What about the invasion?"

"We'll join up with them on the day of the eclipse," Sokka reasoned, waving a dismissive hand.

"Hey, what's-!" Toph broke off as she lifted something fragile and broken out of the water. It didn't take long for Ellie to recognize that it was Aang's glider.

"That's okay," Aang muttered. "It would give away our identity anyway. Its best that people don't know that I'm alive."

He hopped up onto a nearby rock, twirled his staff above his head, and slammed it into the earth. After a few seconds, it caught fire. Ellie turned to Sokka.

"We're on the edge of Fire Nation territory, aren't we?" she asked.

"Yup," Sokka replied. "Only 3,190 miles to go."

* * *

 **R &R!**

 **~LittleMissMycroft**


	32. Part 3: Old Friends or New Enemies?

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: the Last Airbender**

* * *

 **Chapter Two: Old Friends or New Enemies?**

Team Avatar's main course of action was to leave the Crescent Island and find somewhere to stay. As they were preparing to saddle up and fly away, Sokka remarked, "I don't know that this is such a good idea."

"What?" Katara asked. "Why?"

"Flying into Fire Nation territory on a sky bison?"

"Sokka's right," Aang said, pulling the reigns on Appa tight as he re-tied then around the bison's horns. "We need to camouflage him. That way no one gets suspicious."

"How?" Toph asked curiously.

It was less than half an hour later that they were flying and Ellie found herself standing on the saddle helping Katara maintain the cloud around Appa. Aang was steering, and Sokka and Toph sat uselessly, watching (or in Toph's case, listening to) the two waterbenders. They flew for some time and the newly risen sun climbed higher and higher into the sky. Finally, when it was nearly noon, Aang said, "I think I see a cave down below!"

He began bringing then down, and Ellie muttered, "It's a wonder you can see anything through this cloud."

"Shhh!" Sokka hissed.

The cloud dissipated as Appa landed with a bump in front of a cave. They all slid off the bison and Sokka looked around suspiciously.

"Great job with the cloud camo guys, but next time let's disguise ourselves as the kind of cloud that know how to keep its mouth shut."

"Yeah we wouldn't want a bird to hear us chatting up there," Toph remarked sarcastically.

"Hey! We're in enemy territory!" Sokka said, raising a hand to point at the puffins perched on the rock behind him. "Those are enemy birds." He swatted the puffins away and, still glancing around furtively, led the group to the said cave.

"Well this is it," he said as they came to a stop in the middle of the cave. "This is how we'll be living until the invasion. Hiding in cave, after cave, after cave…" He slowed, and then came to a stop, finally realizing what he was saying. It was evident that even he didn't want to be sleeping in cave, after cave, after cave.

"Sokka, we don't need to become cave people," Katara interjected. "What we need is some new clothes."

"Yeah," Aang agreed with a smile. "Blending in is better than hiding out. If we get Fire Nation disguises, we would be just as safe as we would be hiding in a cave!"

"Plus they have real food out there," said Toph from the ground. "Does anyone else want to sit in the dirt and eat _cave hoppers_?"

She slammed her fist into the wall of the cave and a surprised cave hopper hopped into their midst. Momo flew forward, landing on the white bug and ripping its head off. Sokka looked around to the others, who were nodding in agreement.

"Looks like we got out voted, sport," Sokka said to Momo. "Let's get some new clothes."

OA

"I don't know," Aang muttered as they peeked over a ridge. Beyond them were lines of clothes that hung over steaming geysers. The only sign of life nearby was a man napping on the nearby porch. "These clothes belong to somebody."

"I call the silk robe!" Katara shouted, hopping over the ledge and running over to the clothesline, grabbing a red robe.

"But if it's essential to our survival…" Aang mused, "then I call the suit!"

He was second over the ledge and closely followed by Sokka and Toph. Toph found a nice robe with yellow trim and matching shoes while Sokka looked down the line, settling on a dull red suit. They all put on the new clothes. Aang's was complete with a headband that covered his arrow.

"Tada!" he cried, fastening the headband. "Normal kid."

"Hm…" Toph mused aloud. "I should probably wear shoes. But then I won't be able to see as well. Sorry shoes!" She sat down on a rock and pulled the shoe on hard enough to pop the sole off. Then, she stood and shifted from foot to foot. "Finally a stylish shoe for the blind earthbender."

Finally, they began heading back to the cave. There, they saw Ellie, who had changed into her own red robe and was just tying a dark red cloth over her head. Against the wall was ice, forming a mirror. At seeing the others in her mirror, Ellie turned to face them.

"How do I look?" she asked. "Took me a few tries to get it right."

Katara walked forward, circling around Ellie.

"I don't see any blonde," she noted.

"Why is it you have to cover your hair again?" Toph asked.

"I can't just go wandering around with blonde hair, can I?" Ellie asked. "If I did, Azula would suspect something is up." She straightened the cloth slightly. "In case you haven't forgotten, I'm the only person in the world with this hair color—and I'm an Avatar."

"Which is why I think it'd be safer if we just stayed in caves," Sokka pointed out.

Three pairs of baleful eyes were turned on him.

"Come on, let's go," Ellie muttered.

The teens walked out of the cave together, going around the back of it and walking up the path to the nearby village. They walked for about five to ten minutes before they reached the town. While they did so, the surrounding fog lifted and blue skies were revealed above. At the edge of town, they stopped and Aang said, "I used to visit my friend Kuzon here a hundred years ago. So, everyone just follow my lead and stay cool. Or, as they say in the Fire Nation, 'stay flamin'!"

They rounded the corner and Aang nodded to a random man eating spicy komodo-hen on a stick.

"Greetings my good hotman!" Aang said chipperly.

"Uh, hi," the man muttered. "…I guess."

Ellie cringed and narrowly avoided face-palming.

"Oh," Aang said, thankfully no longer grinning like an idiot. "We're going to a meat place?"

"Come on, Aang!" Sokka argued amiably. "Everyone eats meat here. Even the meat!"

Aang cringed at the sight of a hippocow that chomped into a rotting piece of meat that was covered in flies.

"I think I'll just go get some lettuce out of the garbage," he muttered.

The others shrugged and turned towards the butchery. Before Ellie could make it in the door, a rather large man wearing a bloody apron came walking out of the door and knocked Ellie to the ground.

"I am so sorry," the man said in a deep voice. "I didn't see you there!"

He pulled Ellie to her feet and she dusted herself off with a disgruntled look. When she looked up at the man, she did a double take.

"Hey, I know you!" the blonde exclaimed. "You were the cook—on Zuko's ship!"

The tall man peered down at her closely, muttering, "How do you—?" he cut off and his face lit up with surprise. "You're the girl we pulled in! I hardly recognized you, what with your hair—"

"Shhh!" Ellie hissed. "Not here!" The girl glanced furtively around before dragging the man by his elbow into a nearby alley. There, she continued quietly, "You can't just go shouting about my hair! I'm a wanted person! If the princess knew I was in the Fire Nation—"

"I know, I've seen the wanted posters," the man said, now solemn. "I wasn't thinking. But is it true? On the poster it said—it said you were wanted for suspicion of being an Avatar? I thought there was only one."

"There _was_ only one," Ellie muttered. "It's complicated."

"Try me," the cook replied amiably.

"Well the Avatar—the one that's supposed to exist—comprises of two parts: one part man and one part spirit. The spirit took on the elements so that the man could bend all four of them without being hurt. Then its rival did things."

"So you have a spirit inside you?" the man asked incredulously.

Ellie nodded.

"But you can't tell anyone," she said suddenly. "About me being an Avatar, I mean. If anything, try to make people doubt that it's true."

The cook nodded and then asked, "So what are you doing in the Fire Nation? If I was the Avatar, I would be hiding in the Earth Kingdom or Water Tribe or something."

Ellie paused, realizing that with the whole world believing Aang was dead (and the wanted posters of her) they were all going to think that she was _the_ Avatar. She thought quickly in response to the cook's question, wondering how much would be safe to tell him—she decided against anything that would make it seem that Aang was still alive. Finally, she settled on, "I have some unfinished business here in the Fire Nation."

"Zuko?" the cook asked. Ellie froze, her jaw going slightly slack. "It was kind of obvious you two liked each other. It would only be natural to assume—"

Ellie held up her hands. "No," she said, "you're right. Though I wouldn't mind getting my hands on Azula's neck while I'm near the palace."

The cook laughed. "The princess is certainly a handful. I wouldn't try it."

They both fell silent.

"Well it is nice seeing a familiar face," Ellie said. "I never would have expected to run into someone from Zuko's crew."

"After the siege on the North Pole," the cook replied, "the entire fleet fled to the Fire Nation. We had no commander, after all. The remnants of Zuko's crew got together to decide what we should do—some had a sense of loyalty to him, but others were just glad to be rid of the brat—finally, we didn't know what happened to him or where we could find him, so we decided to return home."

"I guess that makes sense," Ellie nodded. "And now that he's here in the Fire Nation, he doesn't need a crew."

While he was talking, the two had begun to make their way out of the alleyway. Out in the open, Ellie noticed two things—Aang was gone from where he had been standing previously, and there was some sort of commotion going on in the streets.

"What's going on?" she asked.

The cook shrugged.

She cocked her head. There were faint shouts and the occasional sounds of crashing or other sort of vandalizing. Other people began stepping out of their shops and restaurants, peering around curiously, also wondering what the commotion was. The square was left clear, but now there were people all around its edges. No one moved, no one breathed. They all stood and listened intently, peering around.

Suddenly it was like a barrier had been broken. A man ran down the path that led by the other side of the building. He pushed his way through the people and paused, looking around frantically. Ellie stepped nearer to the pathway, leaning around the butchery to see Fire Nation officials running towards them, shouting. They too ran out into the square. What happened next was slightly confusing to Ellie later on.

Everyone had frozen for a second. The criminal stood wondering where to run, the officials froze and contemplated how to catch him without losing him, and the general populace wondered what they should do should the man run towards them. Then, time began again. The soldiers ran forward, the criminal darted behind the cook from Zuko's ship, and the entire circle of people broke. Frightened at the fact that the criminal was nearing them, men and women began trampling each other to get out of the way. Somewhere in the commotion, Ellie found herself knocked down.

When she stood again, the officials were holding the criminal tightly, turning towards the path to leave—turning towards Ellie.

"Hey, look!" someone shouted, pointing at Ellie.

Ellie froze, and then looked down at her feet where the cloth that had once covered her hair lay. Her blonde hair was now falling out of its make-shift bun, cascading down her shoulders and shining in the sun. At the shout, the officials stopped and looked right at her. Then, one of them exclaimed, "It's that girl!"

Without thinking, Ellie prepared to spring, looking like a cornered bunny that was ready to dart away. The men ran towards her, and she kicked off the ground, landing on a roof. The men began shouting again and running alongside the building. Panicking, Ellie hopped from roof to roof, slipping and sliding. Then, she jumped down into another alleyway.

"Get inside!" a voice hissed. She turned to see a door that was held ajar. "Quick! Before they come this way!"

Ellie ran inside the house and the door shut behind her. The curtains were drawn over the window, so the house was very dark. She paused for a second, and then lit a fire in her palm. Before her stood a petite woman with graying black hair and kind eyes. The woman made a face and then said, "Oh, put that away!" Ellie extinguished the fire and found that the woman was lighting the overhead light.

"Why are you helping me?" Ellie asked.

"Because to me you look no more than an innocent girl that is guilty of being blessed with bending," the woman replied. "Not everyone in the Fire Nation agrees with our Fire Lord. I still remember when Azulon was Fire Lord. He didn't mess with nonsense like hunting down young children—or sending them to war, for that matter. How his second born came to the throne is beyond me."

Ellie said nothing to that, though she knew the answer. Instead, she asked, "Who are you?"

"My name is Akari," the woman replied. "And yours is?"

"Ellie," the blonde informed her.

Akari moved to the window and peered out, watching as soldiers marched by, looking around the streets.

"It's still not safe," she muttered. "Perhaps you should stay for an hour or so—then it will be safe enough to leave. When you do, get out of town."

Ellie nodded, saying, "Thanks for all your help."

The woman waved off her thanks with a short, "Bah!" and walked away, saying, "I have something that may be of some help in the future."

Ellie followed the woman deeper into her house. They walked up a flight of stairs and then into a bedroom to the left. On the left, lit by the windows on the far wall, was a wooden dresser with a mirror and little tubs of make-up and other trinkets. The woman walked forward and picked up a tub, unscrewing the lid to reveal a black, oily paste.

"How's this supposed to help me?" Ellie asked.

"It is used to cover up grey hairs," the woman replied. "I use it when going to parties and such. I think it will help you mask your hair."

The blonde looked at the woman with surprise and then reached out and took the tub from her. By the time she left, Ellie was holding several tubs of black paste. She waved at the woman with a smile, and then set off for the cave they were staying in. The sun was setting on the road behind the girl, painting the sky with streaks of red-orange and pink. Finally, she made it back to the cave.

She walked in just as Sokka rounded the corner, his arms full of firewood. At the sight of Ellie, Sokka dropped the sticks, exclaiming, "Where have you been? Is Aang with you?"

"No," Ellie replied with curiosity, watching as Sokka stooped to pick up his sticks. "Last I saw, he was waiting on you guys." She turned and saw Sokka puttering around with his flint and steel, and then thrust out her left arm, setting the pile of wood ablaze.

Sokka fell to the side with an annoyed, "Hey!" rubbing his butt as he got to his feet once more. Ellie shrugged at his annoyance. The girl glanced out over the landscape beyond the mouth of the cave—darkness had fully fallen by then.

There was the sound of air rushing, howling over the roof of th cave. Then, it stopped and a dark form fell in front of the mouth of the cave. He bounded over, hopping into the firelight with a wide grin, covered in smudges and patches of soot.

" _Where_ have been? We've been worried sick!" Katara exclaimed as Aang came to a halt before them.

The air nomad grinned even broader and untied the belt from his head, replying, "I got invited to play with some kids after school!"

Sokka had the well-deserved right to look shocked.

"After _what?_ " he asked.

"I enrolled in a Fire Nation school," the boy replied proudly, "and I'm going back tomorrow."

"Enrolled in _what_?" Sokka parroted.

So Aang told them what had happened after they had gone inside the meat shop. Ellie had disappeared down some alley and Aang, entertaining himself by saying hello to all the people that walked by, decided not to follow. Then, two people walked up to him—

"And I thought they were going to hand me over to the Fire Lord, but it turns out they only thought I was playing hooky—" Aang followed them to a school and made several friends—and enemies. He learned a lot in that classroom.

"…So that's why I want to stay!"

"I'm trying to be mature and not immediately shoot down your idea," Sokka muttered, "but it sounds… _really terrible_."

"Yeah, we've got our outfits," Toph added. "What do you need to go to school for?"

"Every minute I'm in there, I'm learning more about the Fire Nation," Aang explained. "I already have a picture of Fire Lord Ozai—and here's one I made out of noodles!"

"Impressive I admit," Sokka mused, "but I still think it's too dangerous."

"I guess we'll never find out about the secret river, then," Aang said. "It goes right to the Fire Lord's house—"

"I'm sorry to be Johnny Raincloud," Ellie finally interrupted, "but I don't think we should stay much longer."

"Why?" Katara asked with concerned eyes looking up and down the blonde.

"I've kinda got wanted posters all over the Fire Nation," Ellie muttered, cringing slightly as she continued, "and a troop of soldiers scouring this city for me." At their questioning looks, she explained about running into the cook from Zuko's ship, and then the hustle in the square that ended up in her bouncing away on rooftops. "I'm surprised they haven't reached this cave yet, but surely they'll be looking around the surrounding caves and mountains until this all dies down. We may even have to leave tonight."

The other four shared grave expressions.

"We'll leave tonight," Sokka decided.

They packed up the few things they had unloaded that morning. All the while, Aang complained about how he never got to be normal. Ellie was torn between a scoff and a sympathetic smile. In the end, they all climbed on Appa and flew out pf the back of the cave.

* * *

 **~LittleMissMycroft**


	33. Part 3: The Light Show

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: the Last Airbender or The Legend of Korra.**

 **This one skips over a couple of episodes, because I felt that they weren't relevant to the plot of this story. In this chapter, we are covering what happened in the episode "The Beach."**

* * *

 **Chapter Three: The Light Show**

Azula prided herself in her intellect. She knew her brother was hiding something from her. Sure, they had all seen the Avatar die, but Zuko still seemed hesitant about the fact that the boy was actually _dead_. Whenever she asked her brother about such matters, he seemed firm in his rebuke—but she could see the doubt in his eyes. But why doubt the Avatar's death? How could he possibly survive being struck by _lightning_?

Nevertheless, Azula accounted for the monk in her schemes in case her theory was correct—and her theories were almost always correct. On top of that, the other Avatar had escaped as well. Now, she was the one that the princess had to worry about for sure. She was still seething at Mai for losing their second most important asset.

" _She got—away?" Azula had hissed in an ominous tone._

" _The other two had somehow escaped," Mai pleaded. "They helped her."_

" _How?" Azula retorted. "I need to know every detail."_

 _After Mai gave a blow by blow account of what happened, Azula was even more angry._

" _So you didn't account for the fact that she could bend with her feet?!" Azula exclaimed. "Being an Avatar, and a trained one at that, she must have a very resourceful approach to her powers! How could you_ not _chain her feet tightly? Or gag her? She must have been waiting for an opportunity to surprise you!"_

Ever since then, Azula was torn on the subject of Mai. She was still bitter at her friend for letting he blonde girl escape, but she also needed _something_ to distract her brother from the girl. Yes, she knew that Zuko loved Ellie. It seemed that he couldn't take his eyes off of her whenever they were near each other, and it would just _not do._ Therefore, she swallowed her anger towards her friend and attempted to shove her onto her brother.

Another scheming problem Azula faced was her father. She had already told the Fire Lord that Zuko had killed the Avatar and not her—insurance for if he was still alive—and had struggled on whether to tell him about Ellie. She had decided against it, as the girl had escaped anyway. Why tell her father about _another_ problem? No, she would simply catch the girl before her father could find out about her—and it seemed the spirits looked on her kindly as the girl had already been spotted in the Fire Nation.

Now, all she needed was something to distract her brother.

The opportunity came a lot easier than Azula had expected when her father had told them all out of the blue one day that he was sending her, her brother, and their friends to Ember Island to get them out of the way while he had a few of his hairier meetings. While she was secretly enthused and made sure Mai was coming, it seemed her brother did not like being sent away like a child.

OA

"Aang, I know swimming is fun and all, but do you really think you should be exposing yourself like that? Cover up!"

They were in a secluded hot spring with high rock walls all about them. Toph, the one who had spoken, was sitting on the edge of the water with her feet touching the bottom of the pool, her backside safely planted on a rock. Katara stood near Toph in thigh-deep water, wringing out her hair. Ellie was sitting in the water behind her to where the water came up to just below her nose. Sokka was on another, larger rock nearby holding a fishing pole, its line dangling in the deeper part of the water. Not far from the deepest portion of the pool, Aang was floating on his back.

"What?" Aang called back, floating listlessly with Momo napping on his chest. "I'm wearing trunks."

"I mean your tattoos!" Toph exclaimed. "What if someone sees you?"

"There are walls all around us," Katara replied. "It's completely safe."

"Just make sure you don't go outside the walls," Ellie muttered darkly, her head popping above the water. "You never know who is around, watching out for a flying person—aka the Avatar. Don't forget they all still know that I'm alive."

"All right," Aang said glumly, using waterbending to propel himself back to shore. Once he was in the shallows he stood with his head slumped. "If I _have_ to go swimming in a full body suit…"

He wandered up Appa's back, grabbing a bag full of Fire Nation clothes and grabbed a long sleeved under shirt and leggings. He pulled them on and then dove off of Appa's head. He did a flip in midair and landed in the center of the pool, splashing them all as payback.

"Hey!" Toph shouted, protesting very loudly at the feel of cool droplets on her face. She wiped them off with a dirty expression.

"What?" Aang said innocently, floating on his back once more. He drifted with the current towards a small opening in the wall. The water in the opening bubbled and frothed, suggesting a drop.

As Aang's head entered the hole, Ellie called after him, "And no bending!"

Aang flipped over and landed on his butt, sliding down the water fall with shrieks of excited laughter. He whipped around turns and swayed back and forth in the tunnel. Momo, who was scrabbling at his chest, attempting to climb up on his head, looked torn between enjoying himself and pure terror. Aang fell the earth drop away beneath him and shot out into the air. With one last, "Hiyah!" he fell into the next pool with a flop.

"Let's go again!" he cried, patting Momo and playing with his ears. Momo leapt off of his head as he plunged underwater and resurfaced where the rocks were. Grumbling under his breath slightly, he climbed up the rocks painstakingly slow without any use of bending, keeping what Ellie said in mind.

Hidden behind a rock on the other side of the pool, two fire nation men viewed the Avatar through the telescope. All they could tell was that he was some random kid—they couldn't get a glimpse of the face.

"Kids," one of them muttered, laying back against the rock he had previously been lounging on. "Do you want to go tell him he isn't supposed to be swimming in the springs?"

"Nah," the other one replied. "No one will know anyway."

And they sank back into the stupor they had been before their momentary excitement.

OA

For the record, Zuko _hated_ being sent away like a child. He sulked on the boat to Ember Island with his arms crossed petulantly across his chest. While he was brooding, Mai sat over in the corner of the boat away from everyone, and Ty Lee was her usual bubbly self, standing by Azula and enthusing about going to the beach with her friends.

While the pink girl blathered on, Zuko eyed Mai. He wasn't stupid—he knew that Azula had an ulterior motive for bringing the pale girl along—even Zuko knew that Azula was livid with Mai for letting Ellie escape (thank goodness, though he almost wished that she was in the Fire Nation, even if she was in prison). Zuko shook his head. He knew he should be glad that Ellie escaped—he had overheard Mai and Azula talking once and…he shuddered at the thought that Mai, a girl he had once liked very much (and still kind of wanted to be friends with) would kill someone like Ellie.

Zuko still didn't understand why they wanted to kill Ellie. Was it because she was traveling with the Avatar? The prince grimaced. He felt like he had all of the clues out before him, but was completely unable to put them together.

"Oh, lighten up," Azula smiled sweetly, catching a glimpse at his less-than-happy countenance. "So Dad wants to meet with his advisors alone—without anyone else around. Don't take it personally."

Zuko shook his head, not willing to tell his sister what he had actually been grimacing about.

"Doesn't your family have a house on Ember Island?" Ty Lee asked curiously.

"We used to come every summer when we were kids," Azula replied emotionlessly. Zuko supposed that his sister didn't have as many fond memories of the place—she was a lot younger than he when they had stopped going. Then again, Zuko wasn't sure if Azula had fond memories of anything.

"That must have been fun," the circus girl beamed. And it was. When they still went to Ember Island—now he was beginning to feel caged in, in the Caldera. That was something that bewildered him slightly—seeing as he had spent the past three years to achieve his home.

"That was a long time ago," Zuko muttered.

OA

"I've been thinking," Ellie muttered after they had all tired of swimming, changed, and were currently reconvening around Appa to come up with a course of action. "We haven't really practiced bending in a while—I haven't even started earthbending yet."

"And I haven't started firebending," Aang added.

"I think I know just the place," Sokka responded, pulling out one of his newly acquired maps of the Fire Nation. He pointed to a spot on it. "It's empty and relatively far away from civilization. There is lots of earth and a stream running through," he followed the stream with two fingers. "—and it's nearby."

"Sounds good," Katara appraised. "Let's go."

They climbed up on Appa and set sail. Appa flew over a mountain range and as soon as they got a glimpse of the valley, they knew it was where they were going. A stream sparkled beneath them, surrounded by pillar after pillar of earth. Aang brought his bison down, and he landed on the hard earth with a thump. The four benders slid to the ground with wide grins splitting their faces. Sokka, meanwhile, stayed in the saddle to sharpen his weapons.

"So are we gonna learn earthbending?" Ellie asked, grinning.

Toph planted her feet in the ground and turned her head in the girls general direction, as if sizing her up.

"What about firebending?" Aang asked, touching down lightly beside her.

"I think we've had enough experience from airbending to know that _this_ —" she motioned between the two of them with two fingers—"ain't gonna happen." He hung his head, looking positively kicked. Ellie's gaze softened and she clapped him on the shoulder, saying in a truly sympathetic voice, "Sorry. But I think we're gonna have to find someone else to teach you."

"You can practice with me," Katara piped up behind him. "Then you and Ellie can switch."

At hearing he was going to be practicing with Katara, he perked up considerably. Ellie, meanwhile, followed after Toph.

"So are we going to learn to move a rock?" Ellie asked.

" _You're_ going to learn to move a rock," Toph replied with a barely concealed grin. "I—am going to sit—" with reflexes faster than should have been possible, she reached into Ellie's change purse, grabbed the knife Zuko gave her, and propelled herself onto a round boulder. "Over here! To get this back, you're gonna have to knock me off—no airbending, no water bending, no firebending."

"Don't tell me you did this to Aang," Ellie muttered, sizing up the boulder.

"Oh, of course not," Toph said with a smile. "I gave him uplifting criticism and kind words. But I don't think those would help _you_ learn. Now—come at me."

With a yell, Ellie charged forward, and punched the rock as hard as she could…and then promptly bounced off.

"Is that all you've got?" Toph taunted. "I barely felt a thing!" Ellie got to her feet with her fists balled up, panting heavily. "Remember, there's no clever solution that will move that rock. Only brute strength."

Ellie stared at the boulder intensely once more, determined to move it this time. She took a deep breath, remembering a bit of Aang's lessons she had witnessed. She spread her feet far apart in a horse stance, lowering her center of gravity and grounding herself into the dirt. She paced around the rock like this with her hands in a position ready to strike, planted her feet in the ground, and then struck. The rock skidded away from her at an impressive speed, impacting a pillar behind it and exploding. Toph jumped off of it in the nick of time, and landed in front of her pupil. She held out the knife.

"That took only slightly longer than I expected," she said. "Now, try slicing a pillar."

Ellie took up her horse stance, facing to the left of the pillar of her choice. One of her feet was pointed at it. One hand was balled into a fist by her ribcage and the other was flat, forming a blade as she swung it round and struck the pillar, slicing it where her hand met earth.

"Congratulations," Toph said. "You're an earthbender."

OA

It didn't take long for Zuko to figure out why Mai had been invited on this little trip. After they arrived on the island, they set their stuff up in a tiny little shack with oyster puke bedspreads, listened to some drivel about the island smoothing ragged edges and revealing the "true you," and then went out to the public beach. Zuko didn't like it. There were too many happy people. It seemed Mai didn't like it either. She sniffed disdainfully at everything she saw while Azula seemed fully in her element, tormenting children.

But then Azula kept suggesting things to do with that innocent (shall we say evil) smile of hers—and Zuko always somehow ended up with Mai. Azula and Ty Lee would run off somewhere at a moment's notice, leaving Zuko and Mai to stand awkwardly next to each other, Zuko holding the group's umbrella.

Other times, Mai would say something about being hot and Azula would quickly say, "Zuko! You should get us some shaved ice!" When he would return with the beverage, Azula decided she didn't want it, but then told him to give hers to Mai, who would smile at him—a rare occurrence these days—and take the shaved ice.

Finally Zuko had enough. When Azula asked him and Mai to go and grab her towel from the shack (apparently she forgot it), Zuko exclaimed, "I'm not your servant! Get it yourself! Besides, why does it take two people to go get one towel?"

"I thought you and Mai would like to spend some time together," Azula said in a mockingly innocent tone. "You used to be such good friends, and you haven't really seen each other since you got back—"

"Maybe I don't want to see her!" Zuko shouted. Then he froze, remembering that Mai was standing right there. Oh, boy. And that hadn't been _quite_ true. Zuko did was to still be friends with and see Mai—he had just been avoiding her because he didn't want her to get the wrong impression from him.

But it was too late. Mai's grey eyes turned cold and she hissed, "Well I didn't even want to come on this trip—I hate beaches, and sand, and sun, and people…"

She trailed off, her eyes darting between Zuko and Azula. Then, she thrust her nose into the air, grabbed the umbrella, and stalked off back towards the shack. Zuko looked down uncomfortably.

"Maybe you should—"

"Just stop, Azula," Zuko muttered. "I'm not in the mood right now."

And he sat down on the sand to sulk.

OA

The two Avatars switched teachers after Toph had taught Ellie enough of the basics through her own unusual methods that the blonde would be able to figure almost anything else out on her own. After that, she engaged in a quite fun sparring match against Katara that left both of them soaked and laughing heartily.

They walked over to Appa, still laughing, and grabbed cloths to dry themselves off with. Then, they changed clothes and set about fixing dinner while Aang finished up his own training session. Sokka had already gathered the firewood, which Ellie set ablaze. Katara, meanwhile pulled out her pot and a few of their meagre stock in food and began making some sort of stew.

While she did so, Ellie sat a few feet away with her knife out, watching the flames flicker in the reflective blade. She ran a thumb over the smooth part of the blade slowly, in a deep sort of stupor where she wasn't thinking about anything. Her trance was broken as Aang and Toph returned and Ellie saw a bowl being nudged towards her.

She looked down at it, and then lifted it up to her lips, blowing off the steam with a light breeze.

"We need to talk about the invasion," Sokka told them, holding his own bowl as he waited for it to cool off. At seeing that he had gotten their attention, he continued, "We only have a few weeks to go. By that time, we need to be here," he pointed to a bay on the map. "It's secluded and a perfect place to meet the other troops. I've already gotten that all arranged, as well as means of travel and fighting. What I do need to know, is what is going on with you two." He glanced between Ellie and Aang, paused to take a long breath. "Will we have two fully realized Avatars ready to face the Fire Lord?"

"Well, I mean other than firebending—" Aang said.

"Which we don't need because of the eclipse anyway," Ellie interrupted. "I should be good on earthbending within a few weeks. We just need to make sure I get some practice in."

Sokka nodded.

"And we don't have the Avatar State," Aang muttered.

"What?" Toph asked while the siblings stared at the two Avatars.

Ellie shot Aang a dirty looked as he elaborated, "Neither of us managed to master the Avatar State. I almost did when Azula shot me, but it's been blocked ever since then. I've tried opening my chakras but it's like the lightning placed a block that's permanently clogging them all up. And—" he looked to his counterpart.

She sighed. "I couldn't do it. None of you have any idea…" she trailed off uncomfortably.

"But you don't have a block on it?" Katara asked with concerned eyes.

Ellie shook her head.

"Is there any way you could try again?" Sokka ask.

Ellie sighed again. "I guess I could try. Just…give me some space for a day."

She drained the rest of her bowl, got to her feet, and bounded away to the other side of the valley. There, she found a cave that was secluded enough, wandered into it, and sat down. Remembering the process the guru had put her through, she closed her eyes, prepared to go through the entire thing again if she had to.

OA

That night, Zuko slipped out of the shack. Azula and Ty Lee had been sitting up playing cards while Mai continued to sulk and Zuko lay on the futon. Eventually, he got sick of the tension in the room and walked out. He wandered up the beach, his golden eyes roving over the dunes and waves.

As the prince walked, he remembered better, happier times. He could still remember playing with Lu Ten on those beaches. Iroh would play with the boys while Ursa held Azula's baby hand, leading her down to the water's edge. Laughter echoed in his ears as his feet automatically beat on a familiar path. When the dark-haired teen walked past a few rock outcroppings, he stopped and realized he had walked all the way to their summer home.

Zuko briefly wondered if people had ever broken into the secluded house in its extended time of disuse. He paused, looking up at the mansion, and decided to walk up to it. He pulled on the doors briefly and discovered them locked. As he kicked his way in, he saw that the inside was still in pristine condition—other than there being too many cobwebs and _lots_ of dust motes floating in the air.

He walked up the stairs in the entrance hall and, as he reached the top, saw an old family painting of the four of them. He took a few steps forward, picked up a little plaster disk, and looked down at the tiny hand print on it—his baby handprint. Zuko placed his much larger hand over it. The prince took the little disk and made his way back outside. Then, he sat on the front porch of the mansion, looking down at the little hand.

Why couldn't life be simple like it used to? Zuko briefly wondered what life would be like if his grandfather hadn't died—or if his uncle hadn't deserted after his mishap at Ba Sing Se. Would they be happy? Would they still make trips? His uncle wouldn't be in prison. Would Zuko have even been banished? Zuko didn't think so.

But then, he wouldn't have met Ellie, the girl who had mysteriously fell into the waters of the South Pole. Would she have been taken in by the Water Tribe? Or was she from the Water Tribe? Zuko was still unsure of the girl's ethnicity. But Zuko would never have met her either way. It was a sad thought, and it made Zuko thankful at least that a part of his current life was something he'd miss.

"I thought I'd find you here." Zuko looked up to see his sister standing at the top of the steps. "Come on. Come down to the beach with me—this place is depressing."

She said this with such a sincere miserableness that startled Zuko. For one of the few times in his sister's life, he wondered if she was actually truly happy with the way their family was—she normally didn't show any discontent for it.

Still, Zuko stood and silently followed his little sister down to the beach where Mai and Ty Lee sat around an empty fire pit. Zuko eyed Mai curiously—she still looked upset, but the girl seemed a bit calmer now.

"Hey," she said quietly.

Hesitantly, Zuko walked over to her and sat down.

"Are you cold?" he asked.

"I'm freezing!" Ty Lee exclaimed.

"I'll make a fire—there's plenty of stuff to burn in there," he gestured back to the house. Without waiting for a response, he walked up, grabbed the old family painting, threw it into the pit and set it on fire.

"What are you doing?" Ty Lee asked, distressed.

"What does it look like I'm doing?" Zuko asked.

"But it's a painting of your family!" the girl exclaimed.

"You think I care?"

"I think you do."

"You don't know me!" the fire prince shouted. "So why don't you just mind your own business?"

"I do know you," she said softly with a sigh.

"No you don't!" he raved. "You're just stuck in your little Ty Lee world where everything's great all the time!"

"Zuko, leave her alone," Mai said. This only made him more agitated.

"Ooh, look at me!" he exclaimed in a high pitch voice, bending back to stand on his hands. "I'm so pretty! I can walk on my hands!" he fell down onto the sand with a thud, causing little puffs of dust to fly up. "Circus freak."

Azula laughed a little and Ty Lee's eyes welled up.

"You know, you're right," she said. "I am a circus freak. Go on—laugh all you want. You wanna know _why_ I joined the circus?"

"Here we go," Azula mumbled.

"Do you have any idea what my home life was like? Growing up with six sisters who looked exactly like me? It was like I didn't even have my own name! I joined the circus because I was scared of spending the rest of my life as a part of a matched set. At least I'm different now—circus freak is a compliment!"

"I guess that's why you need ten boyfriends too," Mai muttered.

"Excuse me, what?" the gymnast asked.

"Attention issues? You didn't get enough attention at home, so I guess you're making up for it now."

"Well," Ty Lee drawled. "What's your excuse? You were an only child for fifteen years, and yet still your aura is this pasty, _grey—_ "

"I don't believe in auras."

"Yeah," Zuko muttered, standing up. "You don't believe in much of anything."

"Oh, well I'm sorry I'm not as high strung as the rest of you!" Mai exclaimed.

"I'm sorry too," Zuko said. "I wish you were as high strung and crazy as us—to express yourself."

"Like your girlfriend?" Mai asked.

"That's what this is about?" Zuko asked. "About Ellie?"

"See, you won't even deny it!"

"No, I won't!" Zuko shouted. "And to tell you the truth, I like Ellie. I like you too, Mai. Why can't we just be friends?"

"You want me to express myself?" Mai asked as tears welled up in her eyes. "Leave me alone! Besides, I had a perfectly happy childhood. I was an only child who got everything she wanted—as long as I sat still, and didn't speak unless spoken to. My mother had a reputation to uphold—"

"Well that's it, then," Azula noted. "You weren't allowed to show your feelings at home, so you're afraid to do so now."

Mai turned away from them.

"Calm down, you guys!" Ty Lee exclaimed. "All this negativity is bad for your skin—you'll totally break out."

"Bad skin?" Zuko asked, rounding on her, pointing to his scar. "Normal teenagers have to worry about bad skin. I don't have that luxury. _My_ father decided to teach me a permanent lesson on my face!" He turned away from them and faced the gentle, moonlit waves. "For so long I thought that if my dad accepted me, I'd be happy. I'm back home now, my dad talks to me—he even thinks I'm a hero! Everything should be perfect right? But it's not—I'm angrier than ever and I don't know why!"

"There's a simple question you need to answer, then," Azula replied. "Who are you angry at?"

"No one!" he exclaimed. "I'm just _angry_."

"Yeah, who are you angry at, Zuko?" Mai asked.

"Everyone!" he exclaimed, and then clutched his head—no, he wasn't angry at _everyone_. "I-I don't know!"

"Is it dad?"

"No."

"Your uncle?" Ty Lee asked.

"Me?" Azula questioned.

"No, no, no!" Zuko cried, his hands running through his hair as his eyes darted around wildly. He felt caged. Why was this one question so difficult?

"Then who?" Mai queried. "Who are you angry at?"

"Answer the question, Zuko!"

"Come on, talk to us!"

" _Answer the question_!"

As they hounded him, he stared down at the crackling fire, conflicted. Then, he threw his fists down and screamed, " _I'm angry at myself_!" The fire jumped up towards the sky, raging like the turmoil Zuko felt inside before quickly dying back down.

"Why?" his sister wondered softly.

"Because I'm confused," he breathed. "And I don't know what to do."

"You're pathetic," Azula laughed.

He felt a hand touch his shoulder and turned to see Mai biting her lip. At his gaze, she said, "I know what I care about—I care about you. Even—even if you just want to be friends…if it'll make you _happy_ …then that's what I want too."

A smile slowly spread his face as he looked at her. Then, he hugged her gently, before turning as Azula began clapping.

"Wonderful performances everyone," the princess smiled.

"Well, I guess you wouldn't know would you?" Zuko asked bitterly. "'Cause you're just _so_ perfect."

"Well, yes, I guess you're right. I don't have sob stories like all of you. I could sit here and talk about how our mom liked Zuko more than me, but I just don't care!" her smile fell as she looked down and said softly, "My own mother thought I was a monster…She was right of course, but it still hurt."

"What Lo and Li said earlier came true!" Ty Lee exclaimed, rubbing a smooth rock. "I'll always remember this."

Zuko smiled—he would too. For once all of them had let go and shared their feelings—even his sister. She had shown that she was human too.

OA

The four of them gave Ellie all day, as she requested. Then, at the end of the second day they began to worry. According to Aang, the process had taken two full days the first time—and then it had been the two of them taking turns and getting instruction from the guru. They decided to go check on her after he told them this. Surely it should not take as long as the first time. They went in the direction that she had last been seen heading, and found a cave in the mountain range across the valley.

Cautiously, they entered, not quite knowing what to expect. Perhaps Ellie had gotten herself kidnapped. They discussed this, but the conversation died on their lips when they caught sight of Ellie laying on the floor in the center of the cave as though unconscious—the only thing was that her eyes were wide open and glowing orange.

They all turned to Aang.

"How do we wake her up?" Katara asked.

Aang looked down at her with a solemn and worried expression.

"I…" he muttered, "don't know."

OA

Ellie was not quite sure what had happened. She was going through the process, just as before, but this time something completely different had happened. When Vaatu grabbed hold of her, instead of going limp as she had before, she struggled and wrestled to the best of her ability. It was still fruitless. She couldn't escape. She was dragged down, down, down, and everything began to fall apart.

The giant her holding a spinning sphere of purple energy fell away. The earth beneath her faded away, as though it had only been an illusion all along. Then, she found that she was standing. She stood on the rough ground, looking around wildly. The ground was made of reddish dirt and before her was a giant tree. Within the tree was her greatest fear.

Vaatu was cackling maniacally.

"You tell yourself you don't fear me," he laughed, "but you're lying to yourself. That's why you can't escape. You still fear me."

Ellie fell backwards, feeling alone and vulnerable. Her eyes welled up and she swallowed with great difficulty. She thought about how much she wanted to get away from him. About how she just wanted to be alone—and then suddenly she was. The tree sped away from her—or perhaps she sped away from _it_ —and then she found herself sitting in the middle of a sunny meadow.

In the distance was a mountain surrounded by thick clouds of dark energy and lightning. However, it seemed distant as Ellie shrunk in on herself and sat in the field, crying.

"You figured it out."

"Go away, Ai," Ellie mumbled, not even lifting her head from where it was pressed into her knees.

"I just want to help you," the little spirit said, walking over to her and putting a hand on her knee.

"Why?" Ellie asked, lifting her head and looking straight into the pupil-less eyes of the love spirit. "Why help me?"

"We all want to," Ai said, motioning around her.

Ellie looked around at the number of spirits gathered around her. She didn't recognize any of them except one. Heibai, the spirit of the forests of the Earth Kingdom sat beside her, snuffling in her ear. She giggled. He touched his nose to her forehead, and she got the image of the tree where Vaatu was stored, two open portals, and a gathering of people foreign to her.

"You are the only one who can truly control him," Ai explained. "Within the century, he will rise. When he does, he will affect all of us. We won't be ourselves anymore—turned dark. None of us want that."

"So you want me to help," she replied. "How?"

"Defeat him," Ai told her. "If you absorb any stray energy from his defeat—he will be gone and under your control."

"And the control of my reincarnations," Ellie mused. "Right?"

"When the time comes, you will know what to do," Ai explained. "Until then, I will give you this advice—you are trying to take control of the Avatar State Raava Style. You need to do it Vaatu Style."

"How?" Ellie asked, thoroughly confused.

Ai shrugged, "That's up to you to decide."

Heibai then flipped her onto his back and loped to the middle of a forest. There, he touched his nose to her forehead once more, and all she saw was a bright orange light. Then, the faces of her friends swam before her and she passed out.

* * *

 **~LittleMissMycroft**


	34. Part 3: Tensions and Intermissions

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: the Last Airbender**

* * *

 **Chapter Four: Tensions and Intermissions**

Someone must have seen Ellie's brilliant light show. That's all Aang could think when he was awoken that night while they slept in the valley. He was woken up by the glint of light in his eyes. When he opened them, he saw light reflecting off of a huge man with a metal arm and a strange tattoo on his forehead.

The man seemed to breath in, and then suddenly an explosion shot towards them, blasting them all backwards and waking them all up. Toph bent a backwards rockslide of earth to hit the man, but he exploded it without lifting a finger. It seemed like the explosions were shooting from his forehead. As he shot another blast towards them, Ellie jumped in front of them and directed the blast of fire away. While she did so, Katara tried to douse him with water, but the water too was hit. Steam rose, blocking their vision. That didn't stop the stranger. The five were forced to cower along the wall of the mountain for cover as he kept firing.

"This is crazy!" Sokka shouted. "How can we defeat a guy who blows things up with his mind?"

"We can't!" Aang returned. "Fly off on Appa. I'll distract him."

"No!" Ellie cried, grabbing his arm. "They all think you're dead. I'll distract him."

And without further questions, she ran off into the fog. She jumped off a few pillars here and there, sending spurts of air behind her at the strange man. The fog slowly cleared, and Ellie found herself flat against a pillar without cover. It didn't take long for the man to spot her and shoot at her.

"Crap!" she shouted, flipping over the blast and hopping away again. She hid behind another pillar and listened as his clunking steps drew closer. Then, she sliced the pillar in half and chunked it at him—he blew it up.

As she used a pillar to propel her up into the air, Appa flew by and Aang airbent her up into the saddle. "We're good," she breathed, leaning back against the saddle.

"Well that was random," Toph commented.

"I don't think it was," Aang muttered.

"Yeah, I get the feeling he knows who we are," Katara added.

OA

"How many would you like?" the shop vender asked.

"Um…five please," Ellie replied, taking the five mangos from the man and sticking them in a bag she was carrying. She fished around for the meager amount of money Katara had given her and paid the man. Then, she slouched off to find the others.

They had split up in order to buy necessary things for them to live off of. Ellie had been tasked with food while Katara went to buy thread to repair clothing and the boys were supposedly buying war supplies—though where they got them was beyond her. Did places just sell war supplies and armor in every city?

Toph, who had opted to go with Ellie, piped up, "They went that way." She pointed down an ally. "I would recognize Aang's Twinkle-Toes anywhere."

Ellie nodded and followed the blind girl into the ally, which led to a separate street. There, they saw the boys deliberating on whether to find Katara or Ellie first. Both of them held bags that were overflowing with red material.

"Is that to go with the random hunks of gold that you've had stored in Appa's saddle ever since you learned from Master Piandao?" Ellie asked, sidling up to Sokka.

"Yes," Sokka replied in a harsh, defensive tone. "I'm really glad Piandao had that stuff. Since gold isn't really the best material for swords, most places don't carry it."

"Why don't people make gold swords?" Toph asked curiously.

"It's too soft," Sokka replied. "I guess Piandao has made some gold ones for show or something."

"What are you guys doing?" came Katara's voice as she slid into the group—apparently having found them. "Are you done getting what you need to get?" They all nodded. "Give me any spare change and I'll stick it in my change-purse."

"Oh, uh…" Ellie dug in her bag once more and pulled out one bronze piece. "Here."

Katara took it and looked at the boys.

"We didn't have change," Aang replied, looking uncomfortable under the girl's scrutinizing gaze.

Katara sighed and put away the single coin.

"We're beginning to run out of money," she muttered. Then she said, "Come on. Let's go back."

They walked out of the town out to where they had left Appa underneath an overhanging ledge of earth that was situated underneath the road. The land dropped away beneath them into a wooded valley. It seemed like the closer they got to the mainland, the more woods they came across. Indeed they kept coming to larger and larger islands as they made their way up the continent's tail and as the islands grew larger, there were more cities and less tropical areas.

"So I know what you said about training me," Aang started as they dropped off their supplies with Appa, "but just hear me out—"

"I thought you were against learning fire," Ellie replied, grabbing a small fruit out of Toph's bag and taking a large bite out of it.

"Well I was but—to master the Avatar State I had to let go of some things—as you know—and…one of them was my fear of fire."

"You know you won't be able to use it during the invasion," Ellie commented, taking another bite and leaning against one of Appa's great legs.

"I know but—"

"What made you want to learn it now?"

Aang and Ellie both narrowed their eyes at each other, not saying anything, as though participating in a battle of wills. Finally Aang broke the silence.

"When you almost got caught," he said, "it got me thinking. What if we have more close encounters like that? What if we have to do some fighting in public? I can't just use airbending."

"No, you're right," Ellie commented. "I should have reacted with firebending, but at the moment it didn't even cross my mind." She paused. "But you're such a pacifist. Why this talk about fighting?"

Aang didn't say anything. Instead, he stalked off, most likely pouting.

"Can you help me fix dinner?" Katara asked.

Ellie sighed and slouched over, an indication to the waterbender that she had—however reluctantly—agreed. The firebender lit a fire beneath the pot, they chopped up their ingredients for the stew, and threw them in. Ellie did slicing while Katara stirred what was already inside with her waterbending. Then, Katara bent five servings into bowls. The blonde girl picked up her own bowl as the boys and Toph joined them to eat.

Ellie and Aang eyed each other, but said nothing.

They ate their meal in relative silence, which was broken only by Sokka's occasional quips to try to relieve the group's tension. It didn't help that they had all been on edge lately. It was getting closer and closer to the time of the Solar Eclipse. The fourteen-year-old knew that Aang in particular was stressed because of that. At the same time, Katara and Toph had both displaying shorter fuses with each other—Ellie supposed that it had to do with the fact that Toph and Katara had the kind of personalities that one shouldn't shove together for such an extended amount of time.

On the other hand, Ellie was still stressed and mildly annoyed that she had failed to get a grips on the Avatar State again, confused about what Ai had said about taking on the stray bits of Vaatu, and peeved that the love spirit couldn't have been less cryptic than saying, "You need to take control of the Avatar State Vaatu style." What did that even mean? The other Avatar supposed that if she wanted to figure it out, she would have to figure out what taking control of the Avatar State Raava style actually was.

She knew that to take control of the Avatar State Raava style, she needed to empty of all tethers—come to peace with the spirit inside her. So what should she do? Do the opposite? What was the opposite of emptying tethers? Ellie didn't think the opposite of that one would work, since that would essentially be like everyday life. The girl moved on to the next step in her mind, coming to peace with the spirit inside her. What was the opposite of peace?

Chaos, her mind supplied.

Then, it clicked. Raava was the spirit of peace and light—the Light Avatar took control of the Avatar State through peace. So, did that mean that as she took control of the Avatar State herself, she should do it through chaos? But wasn't she already immersed in chaos when it came to Vaatu? She was terrified of him—that certainly wasn't peace.

The girl shook her head. It was no use dwelling on things like this when it was obvious she was not going to get it. Instead, she looked around at the others that sat around the campfire. Finally, she let her eyes settle on Aang. He had it easy. Sure, his Avatar State was blocked, but if he could access it, it would be a piece of cake for him to control it. Ellie, on the other hand…

"Toph, could you help me clean up?" Katara asked. She looked over at where Toph lounged against the wall of the little alcove under the road they sat in. Toph didn't make any moves to help, or even to say anything. Most likely wanting to avoid a fight, the waterbender muttered, "Never mind."

"I'll help," Aang said, propelling himself to his feet.

Ellie watched the two of them move away slightly with the bowls in hand. Both benders used waterbending to clean off the bowls, and Aang made a little pocket of air around them, lifting them up and drying them off simultaneously. Katara grabbed them and packed them away in Appa's saddle, which sat off to the side.

With a sigh, Ellie leaned back, resting her head on a mossy rock, and allowed herself to drift off to sleep.

OA

The first thing Katara noticed when she woke up was that there was shouting—a lot of shouting. She sat up, rubbing her eyes and looking around in confusion. Then, she saw the source of the shouting—Aang and Ellie stood there, practically screaming at each other. Briefly wondering what could have happened that got Aang angry enough to shout, she moved closer.

"Well you wouldn't agree to teach me fire!" Aang shouted. "I don't see why I have to teach you airbending."

"That's—that's completely different!" Ellie squawked, her voice rising in pitch. "Besides, that is the weakest, most immature argument I have ever heard. What's going on with you?"

"What's going on with you?" Aang shouted in retaliation.

"You know what I think," Ellie started, her voice still raised. Beside Katara, Sokka and Toph both sat up with confused groans. "I think you're just upset because you're Avatar State is blocked!"

"Of course I'm upset!" Aang cried. "I might as well render myself completely useless for the invasion! I let the entire Earth Kingdom down, and now I'm just going to let down the rest of the world."

"Well this isn't on you! The fate of the world shouldn't be in the hands of one twelve-year-old boy!"

"Are you saying I don't know what I'm doing?"

"That's exactly what I'm saying! Besides, you don't even know. Try mastering the Avatar State with a dark spirit inside you! I would gladly prefer my Avatar State blocked instead of not mastered!" Aang said nothing. "You're just a wimp if you can't control it! No wonder you let the world down!"

With a growl Aang jumped at her, and punched her in the face. Ellie fell to the ground in shock. Normally she would have fought back—with anyone else she would have instantly fought back. But the shock of having Aang initiate a fight—by throwing punches no less—rendered her completely inert. She lay on the ground, staring as the airbender's eyes widened. Aang looked down at his still-clenched-fists. Then, he burst out into tears.

"I'm so sorry," he said, grabbing Ellie's hand and helping her to her feet. "I don't know what came over me." With that, he bounded away. The twelve-year-old landed on top of Appa, where he sat with his head tucked into his knees, his arms wrapped around his legs.

"Look what you did!" Katara exclaimed.

Ellie didn't argue, knowing well and fully that this was her fault. Instead, she turned away. Katara walked over to the bison and tried calling up to Aang. He turned away from her, muttering, "I just want to be alone right now."

Hesitantly, Katara went and sat on a rock. She looked to Ellie, who also looked very distressed, though not to the point of tears. The blonde-turned-black headed girl was staring down at the ground remorsefully, her hands resting on her knees. Katara's eyes then went up and met her brother's, who was looking between the two Avatars with concern.

This day had only just begun and already it was going terribly.

* * *

 **~LittleMissMycroft**


	35. Part 3: Making Up

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: the Last Airbender**

* * *

 **Chapter Five: Making Up**

For a while after that day, Aang and Ellie danced around each other nervously. Neither of them said anything to each other, and for the most part they even avoided each other's eyes. The only time they would acknowledge each-others' presence was when Katara insisted they practice fighting.

In one such instance they had just landed near a large waterfall on the outskirts of a prosperous town. Katara, Ellie, and Toph all had their fighting faces on. Katara whipped her water around while Toph stood in an offensive earthbending stance. Ellie, on the other hand, was bouncing a ball of fire back and forth between her hands. Aang appeared over the hill, turning his back to them as he tied his headband around his eyes and exclaimed, "All right, I'm ready for some training!"

He stepped forward, his legs slightly apart as he braced himself for an onslaught. Toph was not slow to disappoint. Almost instantly, she shot a pillar of earth right beneath his feet—or at least where his feet had been, Ellie amended as Aang sped away from not only that pillar, but two more.

He paused right before Katara, who quickly bent her water at him. He redirected it back towards her and, while he was distracted, Ellie sent a volley of fire blasts his way. Ellie knew that the fire blasts were more difficult for him to detect than the earth, but like the water, he could hear them coming. He used a large ball of air to dissipate the blasts.

"Good job, Twinkletoes!" Toph called as Aang summoned a ball of earth and shot it at her. "Visualize, then attack!" She caught the ball of earth and then shot it back at him. Aang burrowed down into the ground to avoid the earth, which hit Katara.

"Maybe you should take your own advice, Toph!" Katara shouted, clearly annoyed.

"What's the matter?" Toph taunted. "Can't handle a bit of dirt, Madam Fussy-Britches?"

Aang reappeared out of the earth. Katara's eyebrow twitched. She raised her hands and a wave of water came out of the stream behind her. Aang cowered, but he needn't do so. The water created a hole that allowed it to pass over both Katara and Aang, before splashing on Toph only. Toph made a face.

"Oh, I'm sorry!" Katara called. "Did I splash you, Mud Slug?"

Toph shook with rage, her fists clenched. She summoned a platform and began speeding towards Katara. The waterbender did the same with a platform of ice. Their two modes of transport collided in the middle and the girls were thrown off into the mud.

"Are we taking a break?" Aang asked. He pushed up his blindfold.

Aang and Ellie met eyes for the briefest second. Ellie was grinning at the two's antics, but as Aang met her smile, it froze in place. Then, they looked away awkwardly. The two benders stopped as a voice behind them cried, "Hyaaaaaaa! Sneak attack!"

Without turning, Aang raised a slab of earth, and Ellie turned and shot a blast of fire, which dissipated against the earth, leaving a black scorch mark. Aang lowered the slab to reveal Sokka, slumped on his face.

"Sokka," Aang said, "sneak attacks don't work if you yell them out loud." The boy turned back to where Katara and Toph were grappling in the mud. "Uh, guys?" he asked. "I thought we were supposed to be training me."

Katara looked up at the airbender. She straightened, and attempted to rub mud out of her hair. "Very well, pupil," said she. "I believe we are done training for today."

And she stalked off. While she did so, Toph earthbend the mud off of her and trekked over to where the other three stood, saying, "While Katara go cleans up, let's go have some fun!"

OA

Sokka, Toph, Aang, and Ellie walked through the nearby town. While Aang grimaced at the factory pipes that were sending smoke up to the sky, and Ellie was once again fisting locks of black-dyed-hair, Sokka was smiling up at the sky, his sword thrown across his shoulders.

"Look at all those messenger hawks!" he exclaimed. It was hard to ignore them, Ellie thought wryly. The birds were squawking very loud above them. "You know, I've been thinking about getting one for myself. That way, I wouldn't have to talk to anyone. I could just send them messages!"

"What about Toph?" Ellie asked, knowing very well that the blind girl couldn't read.

"I gotta say," the earthbender in question smiled. "I like the idea of not talking to you."

Sokka made a face.

"So, guys," Aang interrupted. "What are we gonna get with our last silver piece?"

He held up a silver coin between two fingers. Ellie looked at it. What could they buy that would only cost one silver piece? She eyed Toph, who had just stopped walking. As the blind girl spoke, the boys stopped as well.

"We could get more money," Toph said, pointing. "Right there."

The other three rushed over to stand by her and looked to where she was pointing at a man that sat at a low table in the alley below. There was a crowd of people surrounding him. Upon further inspection, Ellie realized that the man had a blue pebble, and it was in one of three bowls that he slid around the table—it was a street scam artist.

"This is where you see people are at a disadvantage," Toph explained to them as they made their way down toward the man. "Everyone guesses wrong because the dealer moves the rock at the last minute. But I can feel the rock with my earthbending."

The guy guessing where the rock was pointed to the center bowl. The scam artist smiled and lifted the bowl. At seeing that the rock wasn't there, the gambler was led away, sobbing. Ellie wondered if he had just squandered his entire year's salary away. Her thoughts were cut short as the scammer called out to Toph, "You there! Fancy a little game?"

"How could I possibly play?" Toph asked. "I'm blind!"

"You don't have to see to be lucky."

Well, Ellie thought as Toph knelt down in front of the table and shakily felt the three bowls, Toph did play the part of an innocent blind girl very well. Then, Toph took out there last silver piece and placed it on the table. The scam artist smiled and picked up the three bowls as a demonstration. Then, he placed them back down and began switching them. Sokka, Aang, and Ellie watched with fascination as Toph pointed at the bowl on the left and the pebble was revealed underneath it.

"Flameo, Toph!" Aang exclaimed as the man tossed out two more coins onto the table.

"Wow," the man said. "Fancy guessing! You're amazing at this. Would you like the game a little more interesting?"

So this was what the scam artist did? He must have slipped in extra rocks for the little blind girl to assure she'd win, butter her up, and reel her in for another round—one with higher stakes, and one she could not win.

"More interesting?" Toph asked innocently. "How?"

"Well you throw in your friend's fine sword, and I'll throw in twenty silver pieces, and then we'll play."

Sokka made his way to secure his sword in both hands, but Toph snatched it from him and held it out.

"I'll do it for forty pieces!"

"Forty pieces it is," the scam artist smirked, pouring more money into the bag as she laid the sword on the table. Sokka gaped indignantly.

Aang and Ellie watched with entertainment as Sokka's eyes darted around, frantically following the movement of the bowls. The man switched them around rapidly, made three short flicks of his wrists, and then settled the bowls next to each other. Toph appeared to deliberate for a second, before pointing to the center bowl.

"Sorry little lady," the scam artist smiled, "but—" He lifted up the bowl to see the blue pebble sitting there innocently on the table. "Huh?"

"I won!" Toph exclaimed, grabbing the sword and the bags of money and running off before the man could figure out what went wrong. Sokka, Aang, and Ellie ran after her, laughing.

With their money replenished, they went back out and bought as much food as they could—so much that they each carried a full basket and still had a few silver pieces left over. As they walked back to camp, Sokka made a bunch of jokes and Aang said, "I guess it doesn't count as stealing if he's been gypping people for years."

They laughed, and were still laughing as they threw the baskets down in front of Katara. The waterbender paused as she stirred a large pot of stew, eyeing the baskets. "Where did you get the money to buy all this?" she asked.

"Toph scammed one of those guys that moves the bowls around all sneaky like!" Aang explained happily as they each took an apple out of the basket to eat.

"She used earthbending to win the game!" Sokka exclaimed. "Classic!"

"Ah, so she cheated!" Katara muttered, leveling Toph with a stern gaze.

"Hey," Toph retorted around her apple, pulling away without finishing her bite. "I only cheated because he was cheating. I cheated a cheater. What's wrong with that?"

"I'm just saying, this isn't something we should be making a habit of," Katara argued.

"Why?" Toph asked. "Because it's fun, and you hate fun?"

"I don't hate fun!" Katara cried.

"Katara," Aang said, standing and pulling his headband up and making a little bow. "I personally make you an Avatar promise that we won't continue doing these scams."

Aang protested a bit the next day as they dragged him back to town and saw a circus fair of scamming going on. Luckily, once they got him involved in a fun activity, he seemed to forget what he was doing and get caught up in the moment, Ellie mused as Aang was juggling bits of money while Toph used earthbending to make sure her bet came out in a game of Agni Di, or used earthbending to slam a mallet into a plate and shoot the earthen disk through the bell at the top of the "test your strength with money" scale.

That one was particularly amusing when everyone was laughing at the skinny little blind girl who was struggling to hold up the large mallet that was as big as she was. Sokka's personal favorite was when Toph pretended to get hit by a rich man's carriage and Sokka donned a beard to demand recompense while Ellie kept Aang occupied a few streets over.

However, Aang finally decided they needed to stop when Katara confronted them. Toph still wanted to continue them, waxing eloquent about how they were making easy money, doing whatever they wanted, with no parents to tell them what to do.

"Ah, I see," Katara said bluntly. "This is because of your parents."

"No, it's not!" Toph argued.

"They were controlling over you, so you ran away, and now you act like your parents don't exist! You act like you hate them, but you don't. You miss them."

"I do hate them," Toph growled, looking down at the ground.

"I don't think you do," Katara replied softly. "I think you feel guilty, but you just don't want to deal with that, so instead you act like some wild child!"

"Look, I ran away to help Aang," Toph said, finally sitting up.

"You know what, it doesn't matter," Katara argued. "These scams put us all at risk, and we don't need that! We've already got some third eyed freak after us!"

"Speaking of that third eyed freak," Sokka interjected. "I think I've finally come up with a name for him. How about—Sparky, Sparky Boom Man!"

He said it in a dark tone, wiggling his fingers dramatically. Ellie, who was sitting on Sokka's over side with her arms wrapped around her knees, turned to the older boy and asked, "Really?"

"We have enough money!" Katara shouted. "You need to stop this!"

"I'll stop when I want to stop, and not when you tell me!" Toph cried, bending a bag of coins into her hand and stomping off, forming an earth tent around her.

"Speaking of money," Sokka said, "I'm off to spend some. See you guys later."

And this left Aang and Ellie sitting there alone as Katara stalked off in the other direction.

"I should have seen this coming," Aang muttered.

"Me too," Ellie nodded. "I was just so caught up in the fun of it—but I should have known this was about her parents when Katara getting onto her the first time only made it worse."

Aang looked at her questioningly. Ellie briefly realized that this was the first time they had spoken in days. Not wanting it to stop and they continue their cold war, she continued, "You probably haven't had much experience with this at the Air Temple. It's a rebellion thing when parents only start disciplining a lot once they're children are older. I've known lots of people that acted out just because their parents told them otherwise—that did things they originally wouldn't have done because they're parents didn't like it, back—back home."

Aang looked at her with a mixture of solemnity and curiosity.

"You don't talk much about the future," Aang observed. "What was it like?"

"Very different," Ellie muttered. "No spirits—or bending at all, for that matter. I think that coming back in time unlocked my bending."

"No bending?" Aang asked incredulously.

"Yeah, and the whole world had gone crazy," the girl told him. "Terrorists blowing up cities—no one was ever happy—the rift between different people groups kept getting worse and worse." Much like the rift between firebenders and everyone else in the world.

"It sounds awful," Aang noted.

"It wasn't that bad though," Ellie backtracked, remembering how happy she was in her old life. "I went to school like a normal person and played in the band…" She trailed off, remembering the faces of her friends and family. "But that's all in the past now, I guess."

"Does Zuko know?" Aang asked, knowing Ellie had traveled with him for a while.

"Zuko?" Ellie asked with a laugh. "No. He probably still thinks I'm from the Water Tribe. Iroh knew though—or at least, he knew as much as I did at the time."

They fell into silence and could hear distant splashing.

"Sounds like Katara's practicing," Ellie noted. She looked down at the ground. "Look, I'm sorry for the other day. I shouldn't have said anything."

"No, it's all right," Aang muttered. "What you said was kind of true—I have been upset because of the Avatar State."

"Me too," Ellie muttered.

Aang looked at her, his mind going back to what she had said the other day. The boy hesitated, and then pressed tentatively, "What did you mean by a dark spirit?"

Ellie's eyes widened, and her eyes snapped up from where she was staring at the ground. Then, she sighed and rubbed her face. "I did say that, didn't I?"

"Well?"

With a sigh, Ellie wandered over to the saddle and pulled a scroll out of where she had stashed it weeks ago. Then, she dropped it in front of him.

Aang watched with fascination, and then his eyes widened as he listened to Wan Shi Tong's story. Then, he looked up at Ellie and said, "We should probably show this to the others."

OA

"Well, look who decided to join us," Katara said, her hands on her hips, as Sokka and Toph returned to camp. "Where have you two been? Off scamming again?"

"Yes, we were," Toph replied shortly.

"And I suppose you don't think what you're doing is dangerous at all?"

"No, I don't."

"Really?" Katara asked. "Then what's this?"

She whipped out a paper with a rustle—it appeared to be a wanted poster.

"I don't know!" Toph wailed. "What's with you people?! I'm blind!"

"It's a wanted poster of you!" Katara shrieked. "The Runaway! Is that what you're called now?"

Toph said nothing.

"Don't walk away from me when I'm talking to you!"

"Oh, really?" Toph asked. "And what are you gonna do, Mom? Gonna send me to my room?"

"I wish I could," Katara muttered.

"Well, you can't!" Toph shouted. "'Cause you're not my mom, and you're not their mom!" Sokka, Aang, and Ellie all shared looks and scooted back slightly, clutching their bowls of soup warily.

"I never said I was!"

"No, but you certainly act like it. You're always bossing us around and telling us what to do! You're just a regular kid like the rest of us! So stop acting like you can tell us what to do!"

"I don't act that way!" Katara said indignantly. "Aang, do I act motherly?"

"Well, I, uh," Aang said slowly, rubbing his eye.

"Stop rubbing your eye and speak clearly when you talk!"

"I can't be around you right now!" Toph shrieked.

"Well, I can't be around you!" Katara retorted and they both stormed off in opposite directions.

"Why can't they just get along?" Sokka asked.

Ellie shook her head.

OA

"Where did Toph and Katara go?" Ellie asked.

"Said something about one last thing to do in town before we leave," Aang said.

"They're doing another scam," Sokka supplied.

"Since when?" Ellie asked in confusion.

"Since they made up," Sokka smiled. "I may or may not have done some scheming to get them to talk again."

"The things a person misses when they're buying our last food supplies," Ellie muttered, sitting down beside Aang. After the boys explained Katara's plan for their ultimate scam, the three sat in silence for a while. Then, Aang got up and began pacing.

"Do you think this scam of theirs should be taking this long?" he asked.

"I was just wondering the same thing," Sokka replied. "We'd better check it out."

And the three of them got up and walked into town. They stopped under the statue of the Firelord and looked around.

"Where is everybody?" Ellie asked, looking around at the empty streets.

"It's so quiet," Aang said softly.

"Where do you think they might be?" Sokka asked, wandering around.

Aang shrugged.

"A prison?" Ellie suggested.

"Where would the prison be?" Sokka asked.

"I don't know, but I'm sure it'd look big and prison-like," the blonde-turned-black-headed girl replied.

Then, suddenly Aang cried, "Watch out!" He grabbed both Ellie and Sokka and pulled them behind the statue. The ground where they were just standing exploded. Then, Aang cried, "It's Sparky, Sparky Boom Man!"

"You know, I'm starting to think that name doesn't quite fit!" Sokka exclaimed.

"You think?" Ellie retorted.

The half-metal man in question jumped down from where he stood on a roof onto the ground. As silent as it was, they could hear him draw breath through his dry, rattily nose, and dove as another explosion hit. The three of them ran down the nearest alley-way as the man continued firing.

"This guy is too good!" Sokka exclaimed. "He shoots fire from his brain!"

"We should split up!" Aang said. "He can't chase us both!"

"No, splitting up is not a good idea!" Ellie argued. "He'll just go after you!" But Aang had already run off. "Aang! Oh, come on."

She grabbed Sokka by the shirt and began dragging him away, propelling the both of them onto the roof of a house.

Ellie cupped her hands over her mouth, and shouted, "Hey!"

"What are you doing?" Sokka hissed, pulling Ellie's hands away from her mouth.

"Saving Aang!" she replied. "Over here! I'm who you want! It's me, the Avatar!"

The man stopped, looking between her and Aang several times. Then, he turned and shot fire at the roof Aang was on.

"That didn't work so well," she breathed as Aang fell face-first into Ozai's statue and slid onto the ground.

Ellie began running over as quick as she could, but before she could reached firing distance, a block of ice encased the man's head. Ellie looked around and spotted Katara and Toph. She ran over and jumped down behind them.

"Aang!" Katara cried, running forward. Behind them, Sokka laboriously clamored down from the roof. "Get up!"

She grabbed him by the shoulder, dragging him to his feet, and they ran off. But the man wouldn't be deterred for long. Ellie and Toph glanced back to see him crush the ice with his metal arm and fire at them. Toph hit a boulder at him and they all saw the boulder explode. Then, when he tried to fire again, he was blasted back into a house.

"Something must have hit his head!" Ellie cried.

"I think I finally came up with a good name!" Sokka exclaimed. "Combustion Man!"

"Right!" Toph said quickly, dragging both him and Ellie backwards by their elbows. "Let's get out of here before Combustion Man catches us!"

"See, if fits so well!"

They didn't stop running until they reached camp, climbed on Appa, and flew off. They flew for hours until Aang was satisfied that they had gotten far enough away. They landed in a gully gently and slid off the saddle with a yawn. Ellie glanced back to see Toph and Katara talking quietly—she guessed they had made up, then. There was a piercing shriek, and the messenger hawk flew up into the air and away.

"Hey, where did Hawkey go?" Sokka asked.

Ellie's eyes slowly drifted shut and she fell asleep.

* * *

 **~LittleMissMycroft**


	36. Part 3: Creepy Lady Stalker Waterbender

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: the Last Airbender**

* * *

 **Chapter Six: Creepy Lady Stalker Waterbender**

"Suddenly, they heard something down the hall in the dark," Sokka was saying, cupping a hand up to his mouth and wailing softly, "Ooooooh…It came into the torchlight…and they knew the blade of Wing Fan was haunted!"

The teenager drew his sword and let out an eerie cry. Over on the other side of the campfire, Toph, Katara, Aang, and Ellie lounged unamused. Well, Ellie was amused. She was amused by how unamused the other three were. The blonde laughed a little as Aang said, "I think I like 'the man with a sword for a hand' better."

"Yeah, Water Tribe slumber parties must stink," Toph muttered.

"No, wait, I've got one!" Katara exclaimed. "And this is a true Southern Water Tribe story."

"Is this one of those 'a friend of my cousin knew some guy that this happened to' stories?"

"No," she dissented. "It happened to Mom."

Sokka stiffened, leaning back slightly as Aang sat up to listen curiously.

"One winter when Mom was a girl," Katara told them, "a snowstorm buried the whole village for weeks. A month later, Mom noticed she hadn't seen her friend Nini since the storm. So Mom and some others went to check on Nini's family. When they got there, no one was home—just a fire flickering in the fireplace. While the men went out to search, Mom stayed in the house. When she was alone, she heard a voice.

"'It's so cold and I can't get warm!'" Katara continued in a high pitch voice. "Mom turned and saw Nini standing by the fire. She was blue like she was frozen. Mom ran outside for help, but when everyone came back, Nini was gone."

Beside Ellie, Aang hid behind Momo's ears while Sokka hid behind a tree trunk. As the Water Tribe boy peeked his eyes over the tree trunk, he said in a quiet voice, "Where'd she go?"

"No one knows," his sister replied. "Nini's house stands empty to this day, but sometimes people see smoke coming up from the chimney, like little Nini is still trying to get warm."

There was a moment of silence. Then, Toph's eyes widened in surprise. She straightened and lowered a hand to touch the ground, exclaiming, "Wait, did you guys hear that!" Katara huddled against Ellie, and Sokka and Aang appeared, clinging to them. "I hear people under the mountain—and they're screaming!"

Aang, and Katara continued to huddle on either side of Ellie, but Sokka let go of his sister, scoffing in disbelief, and saying in a tone that only proved he was trying to convince himself of the sincerity of his words, "Nice try, Toph."

"No, I'm serious, I hear something," the blind girl replied, on her feet now. She tilted her head. "It just stopped."

"All right, now I'm getting a little scared," Aang said quietly.

There was another pause.

"Hello, children."

All of them let out shouts—or screams, in Sokka's case—of terror, and ran around the campfire to cling to Toph. Ellie's heart beat rapidly, pounding against her chest as she latched herself onto Katara. She lifted her eyes across the fire to see an old woman standing there, smiling at them. The woman in question stepped into the firelight—she had long silver hair that fell down her back while the rest was pulled into a bun. She wore red robes, like any other Fire Nation citizen, and had her hands folded into her sleeves in a stance that briefly made Ellie think of Iroh.

"I'm sorry if I frightened you," the old woman continued to smile. "My name is Hama." At her words, the children hastily let go of each other and straightened, attempting to act as though they hadn't just screamed at an old woman. "You children shouldn't be camping out in the forest at night. I own an inn nearby—why don't you come and enjoy some spice tea and warm beds?"

It was official. At the word tea, Ellie was sure she had found Iroh's soulmate. Then, she mentally shook her head. Tea didn't make people soulmates. The thought brought a smile to her lips, however. Katara gave her a confused look. Ellie waved a hand to signal to the other girl that it was nothing. But it seemed that the others agreed with the idea of warm beds.

Sokka rubbed his neck and said in a meek voice, "Yes, please!"

Hama turned away and the five children followed her out of the forest. They walked through a field full of red flowers—fire lilies, Ellie's mind supplied. She almost came to a complete stop—the fourteen-year-old had been focusing less and less on her old life. As she had done so, she had begun to completely forget the show. When she first entered the past, she had already not watched the show for at least a year, because it had gotten to the point where she had every line memorized.

A few months ago when she landed in the waters of the South Pole, the girl had a few one liners from her favorite episodes memorized and knew the general plot of most episodes. Ellie even knew which order the episodes came in. By the time they had visited the library, Ellie could not remember specific lines and had trouble discerning what order things would happen in once they got to Ba Sing Se. Now, as she tried to wrack her brain, the fourteen-year-old knew that she knew the term "fire lily". The lilies must have been in an episode. But what episode? Did the episode have this woman in it? Ellie looked at Hama, but all she saw was an old, sage woman that slightly reminded her of Iroh.

When she had first come into the past, Ellie had considered herself lucky that the show, Avatar: the Last Airbender existed. Now, the fourteen-year-old wasn't so sure. It felt more like a burden, knowing that she should know what would happen…but she didn't know—not anymore. The blonde had not thought about it in so long, and even when she had, the girl hadn't thought about why the show existed. If she was from the future, why was there a show about the past? Who knew about the past? How had the world changed so much that bending was forgotten entirely? Ellie had only been bending for a few months shy of a year, and already she could barely remember a life without it.

The blonde, trying to piece together all she still knew of the future, realized she only remembered big events: Ellie knew that Zuko was going to turn good. The girl had thought of that often when on his ship, so now it was implanted in her mind. But what she didn't know, however, was when Zuko would join them. Ellie knew that there was the invasion on the day of the eclipse, and then "Sozin's Comet", which was the show's finale. However, the fourteen-year-old could not remember what happened at either of these events, only who won. As she continued to think, she knew that some time passed between them—perhaps even a few months. But how many episodes where there between them? What happened after their side lost the invasion? How had they gotten to where the Fire Lord was to fight him?

At this point Ellie had been thinking so hard, she had not even noticed that they had passed through the entire village and come to a halt at a wooden door. Hama led them inside a rickety old building and sat them down at a table in the first room. There, they sat as she puttered around to make tea—lighting a fire with spark rocks and setting a kettle on it. While they waited for the water to heat up, Hama passed out cups to each of them. Then, she poured them each a measure of tea.

"It was kind of you to let us stay in your inn for the night," Katara remarked, breaking the silence.

"Aren't you sweet?" Hama smiled, setting down the teapot and taking a seat at the end of the table between Toph and Katara. "You know, you should be careful. People have been disappearing in those woods you were camping in."

To Ellie's right, Sokka paused in drinking his tea and asked, "What do you mean, disappearing?"

"When the moon turns full, people walk in and they don't come out." There was silence as Hama stared thoughtfully down at the table, her low, wary tone trailing away. Then, she lifted her teapot and asked with a smile, "Who wants more tea?"

The five children stared at her.

"Don't worry," she reassured them. "You'll all be perfectly safe here. Why don't I show you to your rooms, and you can get a good night's rest?"

They all nodded and got to their feet, following the old woman up a case of rickety wooden stairs. She took them down a hallway, pointing out the empty rooms to them, and each person went in their own room. Ellie was the last to go into her room, where she looked around hesitantly. There was a window on one side of the wall and a chest on the other. In the center of the room was a large bed, which had a rug sitting at its foot.

Slowly, the girl walked forward until she was standing on the rug, looking down at the bed. It was the first real bed she had seen since she had fallen into the creek all those months ago. Even the bed on Zuko's ship that Ellie had slept in hadn't really been a bed, per se, but a thick straw mattress. The blonde shucked off her tennis shoes—the only remaining piece she had of her original clothes—and ran a hand along the comforter.

The fourteen-year-old briefly wondered what this mattress would be filled with. Probably something odd like chicken-pig feathers. Then, she let her face fall forward, landing on the bed on her stomach. The bed was definitely not stuffed with straw, Ellie noted as she inched forward until her face was on the pillow. Then, she let out a contented sigh, made her hand into a fist, and used firebending to snuff out the lights.

OA

Up ahead, Katara was talking animatedly with the old woman. While she did so, the other four hung back together. Ellie glanced over at Sokka, who was standing with his sword laid along his shoulders as usual, a sour expression on his face. Of course, she didn't really blame him for his sour look. Somehow, the old woman had wrangled them into going shopping with her. Not only had they all been awoken early in the morning, but Ellie would have preferred not to stay in that town more than was necessary. With a sigh, the girl closed her eyes and listened to the chatter of the market place.

"Komodo hen eggs! Get your komodo hen eggs here!"

"I know right! I told her not to wear that dress, but did she listen? Nooooo?"

"Mama! Can we get papaya this week?"

"Anyone want komodo hen eggs?"

"You won't have any ash bananas until next week?"

Ellie opened her eyes once more as Aang nudged her. She glanced to her right as they passed a stand and realized that the man there had been the last one she had heard speak. The man behind the table muttered as they passed, "Well, I have to send the boy to Hing-Wa island to get them, and it's a two day trip."

"Right, tomorrow's the full moon," the first man muttered.

"Exactly. I can't lost another boy in those woods."

It seemed Sokka had caught that snippet of conversation as well, because as they walked out of hearing range of the stall, he muttered, "People disappearing in the woods, weird stuff happening on the full moon…this just reeks of Spirit World shenanigans."

"I bet if we take a little walk around town, we'll find out what these people did to the environment to make the spirits mad," Aang thought aloud.

"And then you can sew up this little mystery lickity-split Avatar Style!"

Ellie rolled her eyes and shifted the basket of ingredients in her arms.

"Helping people," Aang smiled, "it's what I do."

The four of them came to a halt as Katara and Hama stopped before them. The old woman turned and smiled, "Why don't you take those things back to the inn? I just have to run a couple more errands. I'll be back in a little while."

Extracting one hand from where it had been previously dangling over his sword, Sokka rubbed his chin and walked over to her.

"This is a mysterious town you have here," he noted.

"Mysterious town, or mysterious children?" she grinned in reply.

Sokka drew to a halt and his eyes flickered over towards Aang and Ellie. He did not move an inch, watching as the old woman flitted away.

"Sokka?" Ellie asked, trying to get his attention.

"Are you okay?" Toph queried.

"Yeah," he muttered. "Come on."

He led them back the way they had come to the outskirts of town, where Hama's inn was located. The entire way, they could tell that Sokka was brooding, but none of them chose to prod him. Finally, as he set his basket down on the table in the first room, Sokka spoke up, "That Hama seems a little strange. Like she knows something. Or she's hiding something."

Katara paused and eyed him dubiously.

"That's ridiculous," she muttered, setting her own basket on a nearby counter. "She's a nice woman who took us in and gave us a place to stay…" The girl began unloading her basket into the cabinets above. "She kind of reminds me of Gran-Gran."

"But what did she mean by that comment, 'mysterious children'?"

"Oh, I don't know, maybe because she found five kids camping in the woods last night?" his sister retorted. "Wouldn't you find that a little strange?"

Sokka shrugged and slunk towards the door, declaring, "I'm gonna take a look around."

"Sokka!" Katara exclaimed, running after her brother and skidding to a halt in front of the stairs. The other three dashed after her. "Sokka, what are you doing? You can't just snoop around someone's house!"

He turned off at the second landing of the house and Katara ran up the stairs after him, continuing to squawk angrily. Brimming with curiosity, Aang, Ellie, and Toph followed.

"It'll be fine," Sokka hissed, opening up a door to an empty room.

"She could be home any minute!" Aang protested.

"I don't understand why we can't just forget about this creepy place," Ellie muttered as the older boy turned and looked at a closet on the wall. "We still have a schedule to keep, you know."

"Since when did you care about a schedule?" Katara asked.

Ellie shrugged, "I just don't have a good feeling about this, okay?"

Sokka gave the closet doors an extra hard tug and it swung open. He nearly fell against the far wall as multiple somethings emerged from it, and drew his sword. Inside were a ton of puppets.

"Okay, that's pretty creepy," Aang agreed hesitantly.

Katara walked forward, grasped the handles of the closet, and said as she closed them, "So she has a hobby. What's wrong with that? Sokka you've looked enough." But he wasn't listening. Having gotten over the creepy puppets, he had begun to make his way up a second flight of stairs. Katara continued after him with a huff. "Hama will be back soon."

"Just an ordinary puppet loving inn keeper, huh?" Sokka called down to them as they made their way up the stairs. "Then why does she have a locked door up here?"

Stepping onto the second landing, the boy's sister put her hands on her hips and argued, "Probably to keep people like you from snooping around in her stuff!"

"We'll see," he muttered, leaning forward and looking through the keyhole. "There's something in there!"

"Come on, Sokka," Ellie finally said. "Is it that big a deal?"

"There's a little chest," he said, pressing his face against the doorknob curiously.

"Maybe it's treasure!" Toph exclaimed.

At those words, Sokka drew his sword and began picking the lock. Aggravated, his sister queried, "What are you doing? You're breaking into a private room!"

"I have to see what's in there," he told her.

Then, there was a click and the door fell open to reveal a bare room with nothing but a small chest—the size of a small jewelry box—which was sitting in the center of the room. Not even hesitating, the Water Tribe boy bounced forward, sheathing his sword, and picked up the box.

"We shouldn't be doing this," Aang muttered.

"Yeah, not that I don't enjoy mayhem more than the next person," Ellie added, "but can't we just—?"

"Maybe there's a key here somewhere," Sokka interrupted, glancing around.

"Ooh, give it to me!" Toph exclaimed, taking the box from him and feeling it for a second. Then, she pulled her meteor bracelet off her arm and morphed it into the shape of a key, inserting it into the lock and fiddling around with it.

"Hurry up," Sokka urged her.

"It isn't as easy as it looks," the blind girl growled through gritted teeth.

"Guys, I don't know about this," Aang mumbled through his hands, which were held up to his face nervously.

"This is crazy," Katara hissed, her arms still crossed. "I'm leaving."

"Suit yourself," her brother grouched. "Do it, Toph!"

Suddenly there was a click, and in spite of herself Ellie found herself rushing over to see what was in the box. Unfortunately, there wasn't enough room for the five heads to crowd around—Katara and Aang had run over as well, it seemed. Then, the blonde's heart nearly stopped as Hama's old voice said from behind them, "I'll tell you what's in the box."

All five of them shrieked loudly for the second time in that many days, and looked around guiltily. Looking especially mortified, Sokka handed the box over to the old woman. Hama reached inside the box and slowly lifted her hand up, her fingers curled around an old object.

"An old comb?" Sokka asked incredulously, sounding outraged that it hadn't been something more interesting.

"Yes," Hama replied. "It's the only thing I still own from my old life in the Southern Water Tribe."

OA

Ellie sat listening to Hama's story—how the Fire Nation had arrived and carried off more and more waterbenders on each raid, until Hama herself, the last waterbender she knew of, was captured. The girl wanted to smack herself. Now, after telling her backstory, Ellie had finally remembered that she had an episode dedicated to her. However, as the blonde tried to remember what happened in the episode, she still couldn't quite grasp it. It was as though she was peering at her memories of the future through a thick veil that muffled all sound and only gave her short glimpses of what was to come.

Pressing the butts of her hands into her eyes, she let out a sigh. Then, she lowered her hands and looked at the others.

"How did you get out?" Sokka was asking Hama. None of the others had noticed Ellie's worry.

"I'm sorry," Hama nearly sobbed in a choked voice. "It's too painful."

Her blue eyes wide and sympathetic, Katara hugged the old woman and said, "We understand. We lost our mother to a Fire Nation raid."

"Oh, you poor thing," Hama simpered, patting Katara's hand in understanding.

"I can't tell what it means to meet you," Katara said softly. "You're a hero"

"I'd like to tell you of what I know," the old waterbender replied.

"Learn about my heritage?" Katara replied excitedly. "It would be an honor!"

OA

"I don't like this place," Ellie muttered, flaming a leaf with her toe. It was one thing she liked about traveling through the Fire Nation—she could use the element all she wanted. She paused, looking at the other Avatar. "Can't you feel it?"

"Feel what?" Sokka asked, glancing between the other two.

"I know what you mean," Aang replied. "It feels…unsettled."

The three of them were walking on the paths that led around the outskirts of town, Toph lagging slight behind. As their conversation fell silent, Aang paused and looked out over the valley below.

"But I don't understand it," he muttered. "This has got to be the nicest natural setting around. How could these people have made the spirits mad?"

"Maybe the moon spirit just turned mean," Toph suggested.

Sokka, who had been smelling nearby flowers, suddenly rounded on the blind girl, shouting, "The moon spirit is a gentle loving lady! She rules the sky with compassion—and—lunar goodness!"

Ellie and Aang eyed the boy dubiously. Then, the airbender's eyes alighted on a man who was walking on the path towards them.

"Excuse me, sir!" Aang called, running over to him. "Could you tell us anything about the spirit that's been kidnapping people?"

"Only one person's seen it and lived, and that's Old Man Ding."

"Where does Old Man Ding live?" Toph asked.

OA

The sun was low on the horizon by the time they got the chance to talk to Old Man Ding. After asking where he lived, they returned to the house for lunch and found Hama and Katara already there. They didn't say much about their little quest—not that Katara asked. She spent the afternoon enthusing about what she was learning. Then, after dinner she and Hama set out once more. At the same time, the other four set off to find out more.

"Old Man Ding?" Aang asked.

The old man in question, who was in the process of nailing a board across his window, let out a shout of surprise and pain as he hit his thumb with his hammer. "Dad-blame-it!" he cried in a crotchety old voice. "What? Can't you see I'm busy? We've got a full moon rising! And why does everyone call me that? I'm not that old!" He stooped and let out a few grunts as he tried to lift a board. Then he sighed, "Well, I'm young at heart."

Aang went forward and helped him hold up the board and they listened as he prattled on, "Not ready to get snapped up by some moon monster, at least."

"We wanted to talk to you about that," Sokka said. He walked forward, grabbed the hammer off of the ground and began hammering.

"Did you get a good look at the spirit that took you?"

"Didn't see no spirit," Ding replied. "Just felt something strange come over me—felt like I was—possessed, or something. Anyway, it forced me to start walking towards the mountain! I tried to fight it, but I couldn't control my own limbs! It just about had me in a cave up there, and I looked up at the moon—what I thought would be my last glimpse of light—but the sun started to rise and I got control of myself again! Well I just high-tailed it off that mountain just as quick as I could!"

Ellie narrowed her eyes, which seemed to be pale golden pools in the moonlight, focusing on his words, "Just felt something strange come over me…" She had no idea why, but it seemed like this was significant.

"Why would a spirit want to take people to a mountain?" Sokka asked incredulously.

"Oh no!" Toph cried. "I did hear people under the mountain! The missing villagers must still be there!"

As she said this, Ellie saw a cartoon mountain in her mind's eye. Then, she saw flashes of an old woman controlling Sokka and Aang, and Katara controlling an old man. The girl felt like she was missing something—that some concept was on the very tip of her tongue. She took off after the other three after realizing that they had begun running towards the mountain. Then, the blonde girl almost tripped as it hit her.

"Bloodbending!" Ellie cried.

"What?" both Aang and Sokka asked at once.

"Hama's using bloodbending to control them!" Ellie explained.

"What?" Toph queried.

"You guys remember how the swampies bent those vines? By using the water inside them? It's like the same thing!"

They suddenly skidded to a halt at the dark mouth of a cave. Dust slid off of the ground beneath their feet, pattering down onto what sounded like smooth stone floors. Looking down, Sokka exclaimed, "We won't be able to see a thing down there!"

"That's why you have me," Toph retorted. "Come on!"

And the four of them jumped down. They ran, following Toph's direction until they hit a door that was lit by two torches. It was metal, and Toph promptly bent it out of their way. Then, the teenagers ran around a bend and out into a large cavern. It was lit by more torches, and they saw many people chained to the walls. Some were gagged and standing, while others were sitting on the ground, their arms hanging above them.

Seeing the four children, one man exclaimed, "We're saved!"

Toph and Ellie nodded to each other. The earthbender took her bracelet off her arm, bending it into a key, while the Avatar moved to the nearest person. As Toph unlocked chains with her make-shift key, Ellie conjured white hot flames and seared through the others.

Aang and Sokka grabbed torches off the wall. As the girls moved about freeing people, Aang turned to Sokka, "We should go stop Hama."

"We'll stay here and free these people," Toph said. "You go!"

"Just be careful!" Ellie called after them. "She can control your every move, so at least try to get the jump on her."

Aang nodded and the two boys ran off. The twelve and fourteen-year-olds ran about unlocking and flaming through chains. As they were freed, the Fire Nation citizens nodded gratefully and rubbed their sore wrists. Then, once everyone was freed, Ellie turned to Toph, "We need to find the others. They might need our help."

"We're coming with you," one of the villagers said fiercely, lighting a flame at the end of his fist. From the look of his dress, he was probably some form of police or security officer.

Ellie nodded.

"Come on!" Toph cried, and they all ran off.

"This way!" Ellie shouted, leading towards Hama's inn through the woods. As they ran, the moon peeked in and out behind the trees. Dappled shadows danced along the forest ground. Ellie glanced up at the moon and then said, "They'll probably be in a clearing." She paused, and they could hear shouts in the distance. The firebender turned towards Toph. "Which way?"

Toph touched a hand briefly to the ground and then said, "This way!" and they set off running again.

Finally, they came to a clearing. There, they could see Katara standing over an old woman, who was crumpled on the ground. Behind them, Aang and Sokka were pinned to trees. The justice officer walked towards Hama, pulling out a chain with a pair of shackles, which he clapped on her wrists, saying, "You're going to be locked away forever."

"Congratulations, Katara," the old woman muttered, looking back at the younger waterbender. "You're a bloodbender."

And as she was led away, cackling, Katara crumpled to the ground, letting out a distressed cry as tears of horror flowed down her cheeks.

* * *

 **~LittleMissMycroft**


	37. Part 3: Counting Down

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: the Last Airbender**

* * *

 **Chapter Seven: Counting Down**

Ellie woke up with a groan, sitting up and rubbing her fists into her eyes. Behind her, Appa let out a happy bellow as Aang airbent a melon into his mouth. Katara was rolling up her sleeping bag, and Sokka himself was only just waking up. Sunlight shone on the rocks around them—they had flown for a few days from Hama's village until they reached a beach with large, secluded rocks. Appa was landed and hidden among one of the larger clusters of rocks, and they had set up camp on the surrounding sand. In the distance, waves could be heard continuously lapping at the shore.

"Ready to leave everyone?" Sokka asked, popping up excitedly.

"Sure," Ellie muttered, walking over. "Where are we going next?"

Sokka pulled out his map of the Fire Nation and pointed at one of the larger islands that was the closest to the mainland. "We're here," he told her. "And we're going here:" the boy moved his finger up to a very small island across from theirs. "That's where we're going to rendezvous for the invasion. We're actually kind of ahead of schedule."

"That's good," Ellie nodded. "Nice to see that all of your complaining about us running late was a total farce."

Sokka shot her a betrayed look. Then, he grabbed Aang as the monk walked by. "Appa's good for flying a day over the water without landing?"

"Yeah, sure," Aang nodded.

"And we've got plenty of food!" Katara piped up from Appa's back.

"Well then, let's go," Toph muttered, climbing up onto Appa's back with a few grumbles. "We're wasting daylight people."

"I never thought I'd see the day when Toph encouraged us to fly," Ellie grinned.

"I don't like it," Toph assured them. "I just know that the sooner we leave, the sooner I'll be on the ground again."

"I don't think it works like that," Sokka said as he climbed into the saddle, joining the three girls.

"Everyone ready?" Aang asked from the bison's head. "Yip, yip!"

And they were off flying into the air.

"So how many days do we have left until the invasion?" Katara asked, leaning over and glancing at the map Sokka was holding out.

"Five," he replied.

"Wow," Ellie muttered. "That's only a school week away."

The others looked at her curiously—none of them had ever gone to a real school before. The concept was foreign to them. But Ellie, who had gone to school her entire life before she came to the past, knew just how long five days could feel—and how short.

OA

"This is it! The official rendezvous point for the invasion."

Ellie, Katara, and Aang surveyed their surroundings curiously. They were standing on a grassy plateau that was scattered with various koala sheep. The island they were on was small enough that they could see where it ended. Towards the south was a bay that dropped down from them, and towards the northeast were some tall cliffs.

"How did you pick this place?" Toph asked.

"Before we split up," Sokka replied, "me and my dad found this island on the map. It's uninhabited, and the harbors surrounded by the cliffs seemed like the perfect secluded place."

As he spoke, Ellie, Toph, and Aang jumped down off of the bison. Toph sat down on the grass, listening to the others speak, and Aang sank down as well, looking ready to go to sleep. Ellie wrapped herself in her blanket and watched as the two Water Tribe siblings grabbed their bedrolls.

"And we got here four days ahead of schedule!" Katara added, taking her bedroll from Appa's saddle and laying it out on the ground.

"Four days?!" Aang exclaimed, sitting upright, and then scrambling to his feet. "The invasion's in four days?!"

"Whatever," Sokka yawned, laying back on his own bedroll. "That's like—four days from now. Let's all just relax and—" he cut off, snoring exaggeratedly.

"Sokka's right, Aang," Katara agreed. "We're here, we're ready. All we can do now is rest."

"Okay," the Avatar replied uneasily, laying back on the grass and closing his eyes.

Ellie glanced from him to Toph, making a face, and then realized the younger girl couldn't see. The blonde girl let out a sigh, rolled her blanket around her, and curled up on the ground. She listened to the crash of the waves on the harbors below, chirping of crickets—or the equivalent—and occasional bleat of a koala sheep. Slowly, her eyes drifted shut and she fell asleep.

OA

Zuko emotionlessly held out his arms, letting his servants pull his outer robe over them. Once his robe was pinned, one man stepped forward with a bowl, and asked. "Fresh fruit, Prince Zuko?" Wordlessly, the young man smiled and shook his head.

"Head massage?" another servant asked. Once more Zuko declined, and a final man stepped forward with a plate full of steaming towels.

"Hot towels?"

The prince hesitated, then grabbed the towel and wiped his face with it. Then, he all but fled the room. He pulled his hands down his scarred face and walked through the palace. It felt so weird to him to have servants all around him after spending three years without any—not to mention the past few months he had spent sleeping in the dirt in the Earth Kingdom.

He was glad to have servants waiting on him again—to be home, surrounded by familiar sights and smells—but something felt…off. Like there was something missing—something wrong. Zuko sighed and exited the main portion of the palace, walking out to the little garden courtyard that was near his mother's old apartments.

The sixteen-year-old walked over to the pond where he and his mother used to sit and feed the turtle ducks. Zuko sank down onto the bench, sitting as cherry blossoms fell down around him. He slumped, dwelling on his conflicted feelings. It was still just as he had said at Ember Island those weeks ago—he finally had everything that he had wanted for the past three years, but he wasn't content.

A shadow fell over him, blocking out the dappled sunlight that fell at his feet. Zuko raised his eyes to the surface of the pond to see his sister's reflection. Without turning, he muttered, "What do you want, Azula?" She had been leaving him alone for the most part ever since they returned from Ember Island. Perhaps she had finally realized that he and Mai would not be pushed together. Either way, she had been spending less time with Mai and more time with Ty Lee, leaving Zuko to his own devices.

"I just came to inform you of a big war meeting that's coming up day after tomorrow," she sniffed.

Zuko turned and eyed her with suspicion.

"Why are you telling me?" he asked, baring his teeth slightly.

"Father thought you ought to know," she muttered. "I would just as well let you stay unaware, but I'm sure Father would notice if you aren't there."

"Well," Zuko said, trailing off, before hardening his expression. "I'm not going."

"Suit yourself," she simpered. "It's your choice."

And she stalked off.

OA

"I know Katara said that we need to spend the next few days resting," Toph said, "but you still need to really work on your earthbending."

Ellie sighed and got to her feet, slouching after Toph as the younger girl walked towards the cliffs. In the distance, a faint pounding could be heard as Aang repeatedly punched a tree. He had been up since before they had, punching that tree. Honestly, Ellie thought the boy was going crazy.

"Now lifting up earth is a bit different from punching or slicing it," Toph explained to her as they came to a halt in a flat, open, grassy area. "You've got to visualize literally lifting it out of the ground." As she said this, she dropped into a horse stance, making thrusting motions with her arms and wrists, and a bunch of rocks flew up out of the ground. "It's almost like carrying it, only you're using a supernatural power to hold it up. That's why larger rocks can feel heavier than smaller ones." She spun the rocks around her and then shot them at the cliff wall. "Now you try it."

Ellie nodded eagerly.

The fourteen-year-old dropped into the same stance she saw Toph using, spread out her arms, and closed her eyes. She could feel the earth in the ground—beneath her feet and all around her. Then, she snapped open her eyes, let her arms drop, and then thrust them up as though she was lifting up invisible weights with her fists. As she did so, a bunch of pieces of earth flew to her call, floating around her. Then, she lunged forward with her left leg, thrusting out both arms and watching the earth fly into the cliffs.

Then, Ellie just the same pose in the other direction, except instead of visualizing pushing the earth, she imagined herself pulling it—curling her fingers as she thrust her arms out. A large slab emerged from the cliff, making a sort of shelf above her head. Then, she pulled it free of the cliff, spinning it above her head before letting it fall to the ground.

"Looks like you've got it," Toph nodded appreciatively. "I'll leave you to it."

"When are you going to teach me to feel the earth like you do?" Ellie asked as the blind girl turned away.

"Baby steps, Ellie," Toph chided her. "Baby steps."

OA

"Sokka, wake up I need to know what day it is!"

Ellie begrudgingly opened her eyes to see Aang pulling on Sokka, who unsheathed his sword and smack his head on a rock in surprise. Toph and Katara sat up as well, bleary eyed.

"Relax, Twinkletoes," Toph grumbled, "it's still two days until the invasion."

"Sokka!" Aang exclaimed, continuing to pull on the older boy's arms and legs. "You've got to get up and drill your rock climbing exercises!"

"What?" The Water Tribe boy sat up.

"In one of my dreams, you were running from Fire Nation soldiers—trying to climb this cliff—but you were too slow and they caught you!" All while the young monk was relaying his story, he was gesticulating wildly and had a crazed look in his eyes.

"But that was just a dream," Sokka argued, getting to his feet. "I'm a great climber!"

Aang pointed to the cliff behind them, which now had a gaping hole in it, and shouted, "Then climb that cliff! Climb it fast!"

Sokka pointed to the cliff with an incredulous look on his face, his eyebrows raised and his mouth drawn down. Aang nodded to him. The older boy sighed and walked over to the cliff, placing his hands on a few jagged edges, grumbling, "Stupid dream. Stupid cliff. Stupid Avatar. I can climb fast!"

Behind them, the three girls shook their heads. Ellie ran a few fingers through her hair to combat some of the tangles, and Toph asked Katara, "Can I have some water." Wordlessly, the waterbender handed her friend the water pouch, and turned back to watch her brother climb a cliff. As Toph raised the pouch to her mouth, Aang turned and shouted, "Don't drink that!"  
Surprised, Toph spat it out and Katara bent it back into the pouch.

"Why?" Toph shrieked. "Is it poisoned?!"

"No, in one of my dreams we were running from Fire Nation soldiers and you had to go to the bathroom—we all died because of your tiny bladder! And you—" he rounded on Ellie. "You went crazy and passed out and they killed you!" And then, he turned to Katara, oblivious to Ellie's shocked face. "And you need to wear your hair up more often. In my dream, it got caught in a train and—"

"Aang stop!" Katara interrupted.

"Dude, you're losing it!" Ellie exclaimed.

"You're right," he sighed.

Behind him, Sokka let out a shriek as he lost his footing and slid down to the ground.

OA

Zuko sat in front of the pond once more. This time, he had brought a loaf of bread. As he sat there, he tore of chunks of bread and threw it down to the turtle ducks. The prince finished the loaf, letting the last piece fall into the water, and then sighed, putting his head in his hands.

"I wish you were here, Mom," he whispered. "You would know what to do."

He closed his eyes as his thoughts drifted towards the upcoming war meeting. Then, they snapped open once more as voices echoed in his head and he remembered fire rushing towards his face. Zuko shook his head, as though trying to forcibly shake away those memories.

The war meeting was only a day away.

Despite the surety he had displayed in front of his sister when he had said he wasn't going to the meeting, the boy was unsure. He wanted to go to the meeting. The only problem was that he wasn't sure if his father actually wanted him there. Perhaps he had only been invited as a formality. Besides, how could Zuko go back into that war room after that was the place that had started it all—that had caused him to be burned, disgraced, and banished.

If Ellie where here with him, she would…

What would she do? Tell him to get his head out of the clouds, for sure. But knowing Ellie, she would tell him some cryptic saying, and then say that his father wasn't worth it and that he shouldn't even try to get in the man's good graces. That was essentially how she had responded to Azula.

But how was his father any different from Azula?

Zuko gripped his head. He couldn't think like that. He couldn't think of his father as evil.

OA

"So Katara couldn't work her magic on you, huh?" Ellie asked Aang, who was eyeing her disconsolately. The two were sitting on the cliffs that hung above the bay, their legs swinging in the empty air. Ellie had been practicing earthbending once more when Katara had cornered her and asked her to help Aang calm down.

The twelve-year-old shook his head. "Katara couldn't, and neither could Sokka…or Toph…"

"So I'm literally the last resort," Ellie remarked. "Well that makes me feel better about my life." She laughed and Aang hesitated before joining in. Then, he quieted, wringing his hands.

"What are you going to do?" Aang asked. "To try to calm me down."

"Well my grandmother's a masseuse. I'm pretty sure my shoulder rubs beat Toph's back poundings any day."

"Yes please," Aang said.

Ellie laughed and pulled her legs up, spinning and moving to sit behind Aang. Then, she placed her hands on his shoulders and began to rub them. The bald boy winced and squirmed and exclaimed, "Ow! Too hard! Too hard!" Ellie sighed and began rubbing lighter.

Silence reigned for a few minutes, and then the blonde girl said slowly, "I have a question for you." There was a beat.

"Yeah?" Aang prompted.

"What am I?" she asked. "I mean, what's my role? 'Cause we're both Avatars. Your job is to keep balance in the world. What is my job? My purpose, you know?"

"Wouldn't it be the same as my job?" Aang asked. "Since we're both Avatars?" He paused. "Since we are the only two people in the world that can bend all four elements, we have to help protect the world."

"Yeah, we don't belong to any one nation of bending—we belong to all four, therefore we bridge them—make peace," Ellie agreed. "So doesn't that put us on the same level?"

"What do you mean?"

"If we are both protectors of the world, then I have just as much reason to fight the Fire Nation as you do," she replied. "You don't have to face him alone."

Aang said nothing.

"We'll need to figure this out," Ellie continued. "From now on, there will always be two Avatars—something that has never happened before. We have to figure out how we are going to balance the power. Do we both engage in the fights? Do we both guide together? Or do you do half and I do the rest?"

There was another brief moment of silence. Then, Aang finally spoke up.

"When I ran away," he said, "before I got stuck in an iceberg for one hundred years, I was afraid. The monks told me that I would have to be separated from Monk Gyatso. He was like a father to me, so when I found out I was going to be separated from him, I panicked. I was scared of being alone—I knew that I would have to be to be the Avatar."

As Aang spoke, Ellie's hands stilled.

"The monks said that the Avatar couldn't form earthly attachments," Aang continued, "But what if they were wrong? My love for Katara, that's what motivates me. Sure, I had to learn how to separate my love for her and my will to protect the world, but still. If I had the choice back then to share my power, I would have taken it. It's less lonely that way."

"So are you ready?" Ellie asked, her hands falling down into her lap. "Are you ready to be in this together?"

Aang turned and smiled at her.

"To the end."

"Then let's make a promise right now," she said, "that no matter how many times we fight, that we will always have each other's backs."

She held out her hand. Aang looked down at it, knowing fully well that what they were doing was very significant—that they were setting a precedent for Avatars to come.

"Deal," he said, taking her hand and shaking it.

OA

"Thanks for everything guys," Aang said softly as the five got ready to go to sleep that evening.

"So, do you feel less stressed? Ready for a good night's sleep?" Katara asked.

Aang smiled, and glanced at Ellie.

"Yeah, I think I am," he said. "I feel…lighter."

"Like you're not carrying the weight of the world on your shoulders?" Ellie asked wryly.

"Something like that," the airbender nodded.

"Then our work here is done," Sokka yawned, stretching and laying back on his bedroll.

Ellie's face stretched with a yawn as well and she wrapped herself in her blanket, curling up and closing her eyes. With the day drawing to a close, that left only one full day before the invasion, and she knew that they were ready.

OA

"Prince Zuko, everyone's waiting for you," a servant said, dropping into a kneel before the sixteen-year-old. Zuko turned and looked at him in surprise.

"What?" he asked.

"The high admirals, the high generals, the war ministers, and the princess have all arrived. You're the only person missing."

"So, my dad wants me at the meeting?" the boy asked incredulously.

"The Fire Lord said he would not start until you arrived, sir," the servant replied.

Hesitantly, a smile bloomed across Zuko's face.

OA

Zuko walked out of the war room, feeling like something inside him had just withered and died. After hearing his father's terrible, terrible plans, something had snapped. For a while, Zuko had been struggling with his father. He had tried to gain his father's approval, and when he had finally achieved it, he realized that it was not what he needed.

Or at least now he realized that. Now he knew that his father would never truly love him, or accept him. Zuko was horrified by the things he had just heard, and it had catapulted him into making a decision. He was going to apologize to his uncle, and break him out of jail.

Then, he was going to find Ellie, and join the Avatar.

There was nothing left for him in the Fire Nation. Zuko knew then that it was his destiny to help end the war. More than that, it was his destiny to help the Avatar end the war.

* * *

 **Hope you enjoyed! Personally, this one is one of my favorites with Ellie and Aang's little heart to heart. Review if you did! Up next: The Day of Black Sun! I'm so excited.**

 **~LittleMissMycroft**


	38. Part 3: Day of Black Sun Part 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: the Last Airbender**

* * *

 **Chapter Eight: The Silent City**

Ellie sat up with a yawn and a stretch. No one else was awake yet, as the sun was only just peeking over the horizon. Already, the blonde could feel the firebending chi within her grow stronger. She rubbed at her face briefly, and then got to her feet. The fourteen-year-old wandered over to an empty space and did a few toe-touches and hot squats.

Then, she closed her eyes and assumed a firebending stance, regulating her breathing. Ellie practiced a few firebending forms, including the one that Iroh had taught her to redirect lightning. The girl took a deep breath, and then wandered back towards their camp to get started on making breakfast. Ellie knew that she would not be able to use much more firebending that day. The Avatar simply went through her exercises to clear her mind.

Not long after Ellie managed to cook a substantial breakfast, Sokka, Katara, and Toph awoke. The four sat down to eat, and Ellie glanced at where Aang was still sleeping.

"Shouldn't we wake him up?" she asked.

"Let him sleep," Sokka replied.

"Yeah, he's had enough trouble sleeping that he probably needs all that he can get," Katara muttered.

Ellie nodded and finished the rest of her food. As she got to her feet to put aside her dish, Toph did the same.

"Want to spar with me?" Ellie asked. "Just to warm up a bit?"

Toph nodded and the two walked away.

"Nothing too strenuous!" Katara called after them. "We want to keep our energy up for later!"

"Yeah, yeah," Ellie waved dismissively.

She and Toph went over to the cliffs and practiced for a little while. Then, before they could begin to feel fatigued, they rejoined the others. Then, Aang jumped up, wide awake.

"Top of the morning, Momo!" he exclaimed as he jumped up, petting Momo and then landing on the ground with a wide smile.

"Looks like something slept good," Sokka commented.

"Like a baby mooselion," Aang nodded. "I'm ready to face the Fire Lord."

"What's your plan?" Toph asked. "Gonna get on a little glow action?"

"I can't," the boy sighed in response. "When Azula shot me with lightning, my seventh chakra was blocked, cutting off my connection to all the cosmic energy in the universe."

There was a brief silence.

"You know what I just heard?" the blind girl queried. "Blah, blah, spiritual mumbo jumbo, blah, blah, something about space."

"Oh no," Katara interrupted, cutting off their conversation and looking out over the water. Ellie looked as well, and she saw a thick fog floating along the water to the west. "You don't think that fog will delay the invasion, do you?"

"No," her brother replied. "That is the invasion!"

OA

Ellie looked around at the invasion force eagerly. Like back in Ba Sing Se, she couldn't help but feel uplifted by being surrounded by people. It was nice, knowing that she and her friends weren't the only people in the world. The blonde let the hustle and bustle of the men wash over her, listening to called greetings and swift orders.

People were disembarking from their ships, and the five children were standing out on the docks to meet them. Aang pointed out a few people Ellie and Toph didn't know. Then, Katara and Sokka's dad walked up.

"You made it, dad!" Katara exclaimed as she and her brother hugged the man.

"Were you able to find everyone I asked you to?" Sokka asked.

"I did," Hakoda replied, "but I'm not sure all of these men are exactly the warrior type."

As he said this, the Water Tribe man turned and eyed a pair of men who had just unloaded a nearby ship. Ellie recognized them from their brief stay in the swamp. One was tall and thin, the other short and dumpy, and they were both dressed in nothing but leaves.

"This place ain't nothing like the swamp," the tall one exclaimed. Then, he pointed to a nearby rock, which was partly submerged in the water. "What do you reckon that is, Tho? Some sort of Fire Nation exploding trap what eat ya?"

"It's just a rock, Due," Tho muttered in reply.

"Well, I'll be," Due breathed in amazement, scratching his head curiously.

"Is it just me, or are those fellas a little loose in the leaf-hat?" Hakoda asked his son.

Overhearing their conversation as he walked by with a barrel of blasting jelly, one Water Tribe warrior muttered, "I just wish they would wear pants."

"Pants are an illusion, and so is death," replied Huu, another swampie, as he scratched his stomach.

They were interrupted by a loud bang, followed by coughing. Four people exited the boat from which the bang, and then smoke, issued. All four of their faces were covered in some dark colored sauce. Two of them, Ellie recognized—it was Pipsqueak and the Duke. They had run into them while traveling away from Ba Sing Se.

However, the girl did not know the other two, though she felt like she should. The first was a man with crazy hair, spotty eyebrows, and an apron. The other was a young boy who rode in some sort of wheelchair. As she observed them, Sokka ran forward and asked, "Was that a new invention?"

"Yes," the old man replied, "but unfortunately the incendiary capabilities of peanut sauce prove to be a failure."

"You're building peanut sauce bombs?" Sokka gaped.

Pipsqueak nodded and replied, "They're destructive!"

"And delicious!" the Duke added, licking his face.

Ellie glanced from the two strangers to Aang, who luckily noticed her lost expression.

"Ellie, this is the mechanist behind all of the invasion's inventions, and his son, Teo," Aang told her, stepping forward. "We met them months ago, before you joined our group. They were living in the Northern Air Temple." Ellie nodded gratefully at the information and waved awkwardly as he continued, "Guys, this is Ellie, another Avatar."

"Wait, there are two Avatars?" Teo asked in a tone of awe.

Ellie nodded.

"Well that makes a lot more sense!" the mechanist exclaimed jovially. "I was quite confused when Sokka asked me to make two gliders, but I didn't ask."

"You made me a new glider?" Aang asked excitedly.

"Yes," the man replied as his son handed out two gliders—one to Aang, and the other to Ellie. Ellie took the smooth instrument in her hands, feeling its light weight reverently.

"This is amazing!" Aang cried, popping open his own glider to reveal a pair of blue wings. His new glider also had hand holds and a foot rest. "Try opening yours, Ellie!"

The Avatar in question lifted her glider up, spinning it and using airbending to increase the air pressure inside the instrument. Immediately, the wings popped out, and she brought it to a halt in front of her. Then, she looked up at Aang.

"But I don't know how to fly a glider yet," she said slowly.

"I'll teach you," the monk grinned. "Don't worry."

His happiness began to infect Ellie, and she smiled back.

OA

"Today is the day of Black Sun, and I want to thank you all for your self-sacrifice, and your courage." Ellie sat between Katara and Toph, listening to Hakoda's speech. "There are two steps to the invasion—a naval stage, and then a land stage. To gain sea access to the Fire Nation capital, we have to get past our first major obstacle here," he pointed to the map. There, in front of the large gulf that led to the Caldera were two little inlets that formed a sort of natural barrier. "The Great Gates of Azulon.

"Next, we hit the land, and we hit hard." He flipped the map over to reveal one of the mountain side of the capital. "We must fight past their battlements and secure the plaza tower. Once we do that, it's up to the royal palace. At that point, the eclipse will begin—"

"Excuse me," one man interrupted. He was sitting towards the front of the Earth Kingdom men, and Ellie recognized him as the Boulder. "The Boulder is confused. Isn't the point to invade during the eclipse, when the firebenders are helpless?"

"The eclipse only lasts eight minutes," the Water Tribe man clarified. "—not enough time for a full-blown invasion. And the royal palace is heavily guarded by firebenders. That's where need the eclipse's advantage the most. When this is finished, the Avatar will have defeated the Fire Lord, we will have control over the Fire Nation capital, and this war will be over!"

Hakoda thrust his fist into the air with his last words, and people in the crowd began jumping to their feet, cheering. Ellie and Toph cheered as well in excitement. Aang and Katara joined in, and then it was time to get ready. The five teenagers walked back up to their camp. While Aang was getting dressed in his Air Nomad clothes, and no doubt shaving his head, Toph and Sokka set to work putting on Appa's armor. At the same time, Katara and Ellie went down to the water to fill their pouches.

"What do you think I should wear?" Ellie asked Katara as they began walking back. "Because…well my original element is fire, but it feels wrong to invade the Fire Nation wearing a Fire Nation robe."

Ellie lifted up the red fabric of the robe she was wearing. Katara laughed.

"Just wear another outfit," she replied. "I don't really think it matters, so long as you can fight in it."

"Okay," the blonde nodded, satisfied, as they rounded the cliffs and approached where Appa was already suited up.

Ellie went over to her bag and pulled out the gray outfit she had bought in Ba Sing Se, deciding that it would have to do. She pulled it on and admired herself. She looked like a perfect Avatar—not exactly affiliated with any one nation. She was not wearing a Fire nation robe, nor an Earth Kingdom ao dai. Instead, she was wearing an outfit of grey, trimmed with brown. It felt very…her.

"You ready?" Katara asked, walking into the clearing. Ellie nodded. "Then come on. We're ready to depart."

Ellie followed after Katara, who climbed on Appa and looked down at the blonde girl.

"Aren't you coming?" Katara asked her.

"You go on ahead," Ellie replied.

Katara shrugged and fly Appa down to the bay where the others already were. Ellie walked to the edge of the cliff, watching the people down below. Then, she spun her glider, opening it. Remembering the instructions Aang had given her only an hour before, the airbender held the glider out.

"You'll be able to feel the air under your glider, lifting it up," Aang had said. As Ellie remembered this, she did indeed feel her glider being tugged upwards, like an enormous kite that was being caught by the wind. "The wind will support you, you only need to let it lift you off the ground."

Ellie closed her eyes, tightened her hands on the glider's handle, and the let herself fall forward onto the open air below. As her feet left the ground, she pulled them up onto the bar for her feet. She dipped down momentarily, and then the wind carried her up.

Screwing up her face, Ellie increased the air speed on the top of the glider. It shot up further. Then, she lowered it and her glider began to lower as well. The airbender leaned to the left, watching as the device carrying her dipped in that direction, and then straightened it out. As she finally got the hang of the glider, she began to take it down towards the docks. Then, once she was roughly six feet from the ground, she dropped down and spun her glider closed behind her.

Aang looked up from where he had been eyeing his reflection in the water critically. His head was freshly shaved.

"That," Ellie grinned, "was awesome."

OA

"There they are," Bato said, squinting through a telescope. "The Great Gates of Azulon."

"I don't see any gates," Katara said, peering at the foggy water ahead of them. Ellie did the same, and had to agree. All she saw were two large dragon statues that sat on the water, their heads only just barely peeking above the fog. In between them was an even larger statue of a man, who stood tall and proud.

"Katara," Hakoda said. "You and the swamp benders whip up some cover."

"We'll sneak by them statues just like we sneaked by that Fire Navy blockade," Tho said fiercely.

They raised their hands, and then splayed out their fingers. Seconds later, fog appeared around the five boats. Everyone on board watched with baited breaths as the silhouettes of the dragon statues loomed nearer and nearer through the fog.

"Keep it up!" Hakoda called as soon as they could see the dragons over the fog. "We're almost through!"

Then, an alarm suddenly began going off. There was a distant clanking sound, and a rope net began raising, connecting the great statue of Azulon to the dragons. It was a makeshift fence, Ellie realized—one that could be raised at a minute's notice. The clanking stopped as the net came to a halt, fifty feet high.

Flames sparked within the dragons' mouths, and spread along the rope. Ellie's mouth fell open as she stared at the fifty-foot-high wall of fire that stood before them. As she gaped, a distant humming could be heard. The blonde girl's eyes snapped down to the water, where she could see distant forms moving through the fog.

"Everyone below deck!" Hakoda called as he too noticed the forms moving towards them. As Ellie passed, she heard him say quietly to his son, "Let's hope your invention works."

They ran below deck, all the way to the bottom of the boat. The troop came to a halt in room full of furs and bunks. There was one fur of a leopard seal on the floor beneath their feet. Bato lifted it up to reveal a hatch. He looked up at Katara.

"Ready?" he asked.

Katara settled into a waterbending stance, breathed deeply, and replied, "Ready."

Bato opened the hatch. Ellie jumped back, half expecting water to flood the cabin, before swiftly realizing that Katara was using waterbending to keep it at bay. Then, the girl pulled apart her arms and the water disappeared entirely. Directly below, she could see a metal surface and another open hatch. Katara had moved the water that had previously sat between the two open trap doors.

"Go!" Hakoda said softly, urging his men.

Without hesitating, they dropped down, one by one. After the Water Tribe men had all gone down except for Katara and Hakoda, it left only the Earthbenders and Ellie on the boat. The earthbenders all looked at each other hesitantly.

"Go on!" Ellie hissed at them, shoving a few forward. The men reluctantly dropped down. Only Toph, Katara, Ellie, and Hakoda remained. Ellie stepped forward and tried to reassure the blind girl. "It's okay, Toph. If you drop straight down, you'll be alright. There are people down there that can catch you." Toph let out a deep, shaky breath, and nodded. Then, she slowly stepped forward, and dropped through the hole. Hakoda followed suit.

"I'll need you to hold apart the water for me," Katara said to Ellie, who nodded.

The blonde girl walked over towards the hole, took a deep breath, and jumped. As she passed through the boat, her breathed hitched in with wonder. Surrounding her was what seemed like a narrow tube of water. The only air available was what connected the two trap doors, leaving only enough room for a single person to pass through. All around were fish and bubbles and other things one would expect to see underwater—and it was beautiful. Then, in the blink of an eye, Ellie landed on the floor of the second boat.

"Ready?" Katara called down to her.

"Ready!" Ellie replied after assuming her own waterbending stance. She splayed out her hands, holding apart the water. Seconds later, Katara dropped down, Hakoda snapped the door shut, spinning a wheel to secure it, and Ellie released the water.

"All persons accounted for!" Hakoda called, making his way towards the front of the craft. "We are a go."

Ellie followed curiously and saw the mechanist flip a switch on the front panel of the sub. A pale, green light came on. Then, another light came on, and another, and another, until the number reached five. With that, the mechanist pulled a lever, began twisting some knob, and called, "We're a go!" A few waterbenders (including Katara) moved into their positions, began to waterbend, and the subs began to move.

"You've really outdone yourself this time, son," Hakoda grinned, clapping Sokka on the back.

"Yeah," mumbled Toph behind them. They all turned to see her sitting on the floor next to the Duke, clutching her head. "Congratulations, Sokka, you've managed to invent a worse way of travel than flying."

At this, she gagged and clutched her stomach.

"Helmet?" the Duke asked, offering her his helmet.

Gladly, she took it and began retching.

"Well, I just came up with the idea," Sokka said, turning back to the front glass. "The mechanist did all of the work."

"Now, don't sell yourself short, young man," the mechanist replied. "It was your idea to use waterbending to make the subs sink and float. Brilliant! Though, your original plans were a bit difficult to decipher." He held up a drawing of what looking like two people standing inside a whale. "Unfortunately, there was one problem I couldn't fix. The subs have a limited air supply. Before we land on the beaches, we'll need to resurface."

OA

When the subs resurfaced, most of the inhabitants of the subs climbed up the ladder to the hatch to get some fresh air in small groups. The Duke rinsed out his helmet, men stretched, and others took in deep gulps of fresh air. When Katara, Ellie, Sokka, and Toph went up to the surface, Aang flew over from atop Appa on his glider, landing before them.

"So this is it, huh?" he asked.

"Are you ready for the Fire Nation to know the Avatar's alive?" Sokka asked with a smile.

Aang's eyes narrowed in determination. "I'm ready," he replied.

He and Sokka briefly shook hands, before Aang moved in to hug the older boy. Katara, Toph, and Ellie joined the hug with smiles.

"I hope you two kick some serious Fire Lord butt," Toph grinned.

"Me too, Toph," Ellie agreed. "Me too."

Then, they all broke apart as Hakoda's voice called out, "Everyone listen up!" The turned to see that he had just emerged from the hatch with Bato. "The next time we resurface, it'll be on the beaches. So, stay alert and fight smart! Now break time's over. Back in the subs!"

And with that, Hakoda and Bato disappeared within the sub once more. Knowing that Aang and Katara would probably want a moment alone, Ellie followed Sokka and Toph back towards the hatch. They waited as a few earthbenders and Pipsqueak descended before them. Then, the three teens looked at each other.

"Good luck, Ellie," Sokka said sincerely.

"You too," she nodded. Then, she turned to Toph. "No matter what happens today, I want you both to know that I've come to think of you all as family. When I came here to the past, I was lonely and I missed my family a lot, and you've all been so welcoming…and…well…I guess what I'm trying to say is thank you."

They both nodded, and Ellie watched them descend the ladder. Then, she turned back to Aang, who was locked in an embrace with Katara, kissing her. Ellie cleared her throat. The two children jumped apart.

"Ready to go?" she asked Aang softly.

"Yeah," he nodded, rubbing his head.

Ellie opened her glider, and he did the same. Then, they both took off into the air.

OA

Zuko pulled out his hair piece, letting his dark locks fall down around his head freely. Then, he took off his upper body armor and set it on his bed. Then, he put on his traveling over robe. As he did so, he glanced at a portrait of his mother, which sat on his bedside table.

"I know I've made some bad choices, but today," he said, "I'm going to make things right."

The boy walked back over to his bed and picked up his dao swords and the rucksack he had packed. Pulling his hood over his head, the boy made his way out of the palace. He joined the crowds as they walked towards the bunkers, which had been designed to protect them in cases where they wouldn't be able to protect themselves (such as a solar eclipse).

The rest of the royal family, and his father's highest dignitaries, had already gone down—the first to have been evacuated. Since Zuko was planning to leave during the invasion, it had taken him longer to get ready. But Zuko didn't mind. In fact, he preferred to walk among those who hardly knew him, so he could set his mind straight.

OA

"Everyone in position!" Hakoda called, turning from the periscope he had been looking into. "Earthbenders, get into your tanks. This is gonna be a rough ride."

Above the surface, men were posted all along the man-made canal that regulated traffic into the capital. The doors of the canal were closed, and would hold strong through most attack. As five shadows could be seen below the surface of the water, one man hit an alarm. Then, the men at the posts began shooting metal chains down into the water in hopes to damage some of the submerged ships.

One of the ships was punctured, and a waterbender changed the water that poured in to ice to prevent the sub from sinking. Unfortunately, this gave the chain the ability to drag the ship. The firebenders began retracting the chain—pulling the sub out of the water. Hurriedly, Katara steered Appa over, and broke the chain that was hauling the sub. Instantly, the sub was dropped back into the water.

As the subs neared the wall, Hakoda called, "Ready the torpedo!" He looked out the periscope again. In the wall were three metal grates that allowed water to filter in the bay. The Water Tribe man watched as they grew nearer, his hand held aloft as a signal to stay in position. Then, he commanded, "Fire!" Each of the front three boats launched two torpedoes, blasting away the metal grates that barred their way. The subs passed through them, heading for the beaches of the Fire Nation capital.

As they reached the shallow water, the boats surfaced. Instantly, the Fire Nation began raining fire on them. The a pair of mechanical doors opened at the of the subs, and the earthbender tanks rolled forth. They were long, metallic, and had an Earth Kingdom symbol at the front. Each one had six little wheels that propelled two continuous treads—one for each side of the craft. The doorway was cleared by these metal caterpillars, and the warriors behind them ran out with a cry.

With that, the force moved forward. People ran in between the five tanks, and there were carts that rode before and behind them. Half of the carts carried barrels of water, while the other half had chunks of earth. As they moved, the carts dropped pieces of earth one by one, which the earthbenders shot at the post towers. The post towers—or battlements—were situated all along the mountain walls on either side of them.

As Katara landed Appa behind the main force and leapt to the ground, little fire tanks came out of a nearby doorway, leaving no haste in shooting at the soldiers before them. Luckily, the earth tanks were sturdily built. The metal withstood fire blasts with ease as they advanced, rolling right over the fire tanks and crushing them. One earth tanks even rolled on top of a fire post that was on the ground before them, and the six people inside the tank used earthbending to crush the tower.

At the back of the force, the swampies bent water out of nearby barrels, combating two fire tanks at once. As Due and Tho blasted one into the water, Tho shouted, "We're a man down! Where in tarnation is Huu?"

As if summoned, a shadow appeared in the water, followed by an enormous shape. It was a mass of seaweed that rose out of the water—the swamp monster, complete with a giant pair of arms and a little wooden face mask. As firebenders began blasting at it, it grabbed them with tendrils of seaweed and threw the tanks into the water behind it, or towards the Fire Nation's own troops. One tank even hit a post tower up on the mountain wall.

"Hey, Huu! Where you been?" Due asked jovially.

A human face appeared within the vines, and Huu replied, "Communing with nature. It takes a while to collect this much seaweed."

It was then that the Fire Nation released the rhinos. The men that rode them generally brought up the rear of the force—they weren't benders, so they were forced to rely solely on their spears and the brute force of the beasts they rode. Typically, they emerged after a battalion of firebenders and tanks. Seeing them, the Water Tribe warriors ran over, their shield held before them.

One rhino broke off from the arrow formation that the men had formed, heading for the end of the other men's line. Seeing this, Sokka broke off from his own line, bringing out his sword and holding it at the ready. As the Fire Nation spearman raised his weapon, Sokka leapt up onto the rhino's horn, slicing the spear in an underhand thrust. Then, he jumped into the saddle, shoving the other man off of the rhino in one swift motion.

Sokka took a second to survey the immediate scene. Fire Nation foot soldiers had joined the fray, shooting blasts of fire at the Water Tribe men while they fought spear to spear. Sokka's eyes caught on a spearman sneaking up on Hakoda, who was warding off a fire blast with his shield.

"Dad, look out!" the boy cried.

The man turned, dodged a jab of the Fire Nation man's spear, parried, grabbed the other man's spear, and wrenched it towards him. The other man, thrown off balance, fell to the ground, relinquishing his grip on his spear. Then, Hakoda turned to the firebender, his two spears held aloft.

The firebender shot, Hakoda dodged once more, and he swiped his right spear under the man's legs, bringing him down. Sokka urged his rhino towards his father as the man turned and threw both spears at two firebenders who shot at him, spearing them in the chest. Sokka held out a hand, and pulled Hakoda onto the back of the rhino.

As they rode, occasionally swinging at footmen that ran their way, they could survey the entire scene more closely. As the people on foot fought, earth carts were being taken out—as were tanks, and even Huu. The battlements that were posted along the mountain walls had too great an advantage.

"Sokka," Hakoda said, looking around. "We've got to take out those battlements. It's our only chance."

Sokka turned and looked at the towers posted above, his eyes narrowing and his eyebrows drawing down.

"I've got an idea," he said.

OA

Flying aboard Appa with his sister and his father, Sokka gripped one of Appa's horns in one hand and drew his sword with the other. The boy leaned away from the bison just in time to bring his sword down and slice the harpoon off of the battlement. As they flew past a second tower, Hakoda lit a few bombs, tossing them through the open window at the front of the battlement. Seconds later, it exploded.

Then, they flew across to the other side of the gully, towards the other three battlements. Katara bent water out of barrels that were strapped to either side of Appa's armor, freezing the firebenders inside the first battlement. Then, she brought Appa down and landed him between the last two towers.

"You two take out that battlement," Hakoda ordered, pointing to the second one. "I've got this one." As he began running towards it, he added, "Watch each other's backs."

The teenagers ran off. Sokka had his sword unsheathed and Katara had water at the ready, slung across her shoulders and down her arms. Sokka moved ahead, slicing the door open with his sword. Before the firebenders inside could move, Katara froze them in place with some of her water. Then, Sokka ran up the stairs to the harpoon, slicing it in two.

Their hearts still in their mouths from the fight, they ran out of the tower. Sliding along the roof of the last battlement was their father. Silently, he dropped in through the open window. There were several shouts, the sound of weapons clashing, and then a bang as fire flooded through the window. Then, Hakoda exited a smoking doorway at the bottom of the battlement. He walked forward laboredly, and then slumped to the ground with his eyes clenched in pain.

"Dad!" the two children exclaimed.

They ran forward, kneeling beside him. Katara checked his pulse to make sure he was still alive.

"Help me move him," she suddenly said to her brother. "I can't heal him here—not with that battlement still there."

Sokka grabbed his father's legs while Katara used water to lift up his front, not wanting to irritate the injury on his chest. Together, they managed to get him onto Appa. Sokka jumped onto the bison's head and nudged him with his knees, slapping the reigns and crying, "Yip, yip!" The teenagers brought Appa down to the gully below, landing him on the ground near a wall. Already, the fighting had moved further towards the gates and away from the shore. They got their dad off of the bison, laying him gently on the ground. Then, Katara pulled out some water and pressed it onto his lower ribcage.

Hakoda let out a groan, and his eyes slid open.

"How does that feel, Dad?" the waterbender asked.

"A little—better," he grunted, attempting to sit up. "I need to get back to the troops—"

He let out another little cry of pain, and Katara pushed him back down.

"You're hurt—badly," the girl told him. "You can't fight anymore."

"Everyone's counting on me to lead this mission," he winced. "I won't let them down."

Again, he tried to get up, and fell back to the ground with a groan. Katara and Sokka exchanged worried glances. If Hakoda insisted on getting up, he would expend a great deal more of his much needed energy than he could afford to lose.

"Can't you heal him any faster?" Sokka asked.

"I'm doing everything I can!" he sister bit back, placing the water back on their father's wound.

The teenage boy looked down at their father, his eyes holding conflicting feelings. Then, he looked back up at his sister.

"I'll do it," he said firmly.

"No offense, Sokka, but you're not exactly 'Mr. Healing Hands,'" she retorted.

"No," he dissented, getting to his feet and clutching his helmet to his side. "I'll lead the invasion force."

"Don't be crazy!" Katara argued.

"Maybe I am a little crazy," Sokka admitted, "but the eclipse is about to start, and we need to be up that volcano by the time it happens!"

"You can do this," Hakoda reassured his son, no longer attempting to ward off his daughter's healing hands. "I'm proud of you, son."

"I still think you're crazy," Katara muttered. "But I'm proud of you too."

Sokka smiled. Then, his face grew serious as he replaced his wolf helmet on his head. The boy climbed back up onto Appa's head, sitting at the golden arrow he had made as a sort of saddle for the driver, and stated once more, "Yip, yip." Sokka flew the bison over to where the battle was still raging. As he landed, Appa knocked over a fire tank, sending it flying.

Then Sokka scrambled to the back of the saddle and shouted to the others, "Everyone listen up! I want the tanks in wedge formation! Warriors and benders in the middle!" he waited for them to do as he said. The five earth tanks formed a wedge, and the footmen all assembled in the middle. Once they had done as ordered, Sokka climbed back up onto Appa's head and cried, "Charge!"

They began moving forward, and, as it turned out, having the tanks go ahead of the footmen was a pure stroke of genius. The firebenders couldn't penetrate through their defenses. Burning through metal took a lot of skill, time, and concentration—all things that were unavailable as the tanks kept pressing forward. All the firebenders could do was to shoot out blasts of fire and then move back before they could get crushed. The nonbenders were even worse off, not being able to get close enough to the tanks without getting crushed as well.

Neglecting the large gates, the invading troops headed for the walls that separated the caldera from the beaches. Sokka rode a cart forward, ahead of the group. Instead of carrying water or earth, however, this cart was full of blasting jelly. As it neared the wall, Sokka jumped off the back and watched as the barrels impacted the wall, sending out a shower of sparks and smoke. After that, he ran over and hopped onto Appa once more. Then, once the smoke cleared, they charged forward with war cries.

"The Fire Nation are falling back!" Haru's father shouted triumphantly.

The men all ran forward eagerly. One man stayed behind for the briefest of seconds. As Appa landed next to him, Bato cried, "Sokka, we're on our way to victory!" With that, he ran to join the others. Sokka lifted his battle hardened face, looking ahead of the gates to the volcanic mountain that stretched before them.

OA

Ellie saw Aang land on rooftop, and made her way to do the same. As she jumped down beside him, her hair whipped around in the wind, and Aang looked at her.

"What's wrong with this picture?" he whispered, his quiet voice seeming to echo about the city.

Ellie glanced around at the empty streets and abandoned shops.

"It's…quiet?" she responded, her eyes narrowing in confusion.

"Exactly," the airbender responded. "Where do you think the palace is?"

"Center of the city, probably," she shrugged. Aang nodded, and they both took off on their gliders once more. As they got further into the city, the two children could see the palace. They dropped down and began running.

Ellie's breath seemed loud and ragged in her ears as she panted, running through the empty city. Then, her heart leapt up into her mouth as Aang kicked open the doors to the palace and cried, "The Avatar is back!" Then, both of their hardened faces slacked as they realized the palace, too, was empty. The torches were not lit, leaving the palace in the dark. As they walked forward, glancing around furtively, their footsteps echoed off the smooth floors. Ellie's pulse did not slow any and she could hear her breath hitch with every pump of her heart.

Aang walked forward, looking at a large painting of Fire Lord Sozin, and called out, "Hello? Is anyone home?"

Ellie closed her eyes. It just hit her that she was standing in Zuko's home—the place he had tried for three years to return to. Ellie looked around as though she was seeing it with a new pair of eyes. It was grand, sure, but it didn't seem that great. It didn't seem very…homey.

They wandered for a while, mostly in silence, until they found the throne wall. Aang looked to Ellie questioningly, and she nodded. He rubbed his hands on his pants, and then took a deep breath. The blonde girl did the same. Then, they met eyes, and Aang pushed the curtain to the side. Using airbending, the boy pushed both of them forward to the center of the room. Ahead, the throne sat—empty. The room was dark. Absent were the flames that flickered along the dais whenever a ruler sat upon it.

"No!" Aang cried, dropping his staff. "No, no, no! Fire Lord Ozai—where are you?"

* * *

 **I don't know how many people are going to be on fanfiction today, but I just had to post the eclipse episode on the day of the eclipse. Will be posting part two shortly. Hope you enjoyed! I'll also let you know, that a few things will be different from cannon in this next one. Happy Eclipse Day!**

 **~LittleMissMycroft**


	39. Part 3: Day of Black Sun Part 2

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: the Last Airbender**

 **Here's part two! R &R!**

* * *

 **Chapter Nine: The Underground**

Aang and Ellie flew over the land on their gliders, scouring the battle scene. Occasionally they would dodge a flaming boulder or two. The ground below them showed the effects of battle greatly. There were random parts of the ground bent into spikes or slabs, many random pools of water (some ankle deep), and a few abandoned carts or parts of the walls were on fire. Amid the sea of green, red, and blue of people, one form stood out.

"I see Appa!" Aang cried.

"Then let's try over there!" Ellie shot back.

He began flying down towards where Appa was, and Ellie followed. As they got closer to the ground, they could make out four figures standing just behind an earth tank. The two of them landed, and Sokka, Katara, Toph, and Hakoda looked at them in surprise.

"Please tell me you're here because the Fire Lord turned out to be a big wimp, and you didn't even need the eclipse to take him down," Sokka whined.

"He wasn't home," Aang replied despondently.

"No one was," Ellie added. "The entire city was abandoned."

Sokka's eyes widened as he said slowly, "They knew."

"Or they at least had a plan prepared in the case that something like this would happen," Ellie said. "You've got to admit, if you knew a day was coming where all of the waterbenders of the North Pole would lose their bending, you'd put in a protection plan too."

The others nodded.

"Well, no matter," Aang muttered. "It's over. The Fire Lord is probably long gone by now—on some remote island, or something."

"No," Sokka dissented softly. "My instincts tell me he wouldn't go too far. He would have a secret bunker. Somewhere he could go and be safe during a siege, but still be close enough to rule the nation."

"If it's an underground secret bunker we're looking for, I'm just the girl your need!" Toph exclaimed.

Sokka pulled something out of his pocket and looked at it, saying, "The mechanist gave me this timing device. It looks like we've got about ten minutes until the full eclipse—ten minutes to find the Fire Lord."

"We can still do this!" Aang said, sounding hopeful once more. "We can still win the day."

Sokka stood and he, Aang, and Ellie made their way to move.

"Wait," Katara interrupted, stopping them in their tracks. "If they knew—or even suspected—we may be walking into a trap. We should just go, and make sure we all get out of here safely."

Still sitting on a rock behind them, Hakoda piped up, "Everyone who is here today came prepared to risk everything for this mission. They know what's at stake. If there's still a chance—and there's still hope—I think they would want you to go for it."

"What do you two think?" Sokka asked, turning to the two Avatars. "You're the ones who have to face the Fire Lord. We'll go with whatever you decide."

Ellie and Aang looked at each other. In the split second their eyes met, both knew that they would have to do this—they had to try. Ellie saw the fierce determination in the airbender's eyes, and Aang saw hers, and they both nodded to each other.

"We've got to try," Aang said.

OA

They landed on the volcano mountainside, sliding off of Appa to the grassy ground. As soon as Toph landed, she put her hands against the ground. Aang sidling up to her and asked her, "Do you feel anything?"

"Yup," she replied. "There are natural tunnels crisscrossing through the inside of the volcano.

"Anything else?" Sokka asked. "Is there a structure somewhere?"

Toph hit the ground again, this time letting her fingers crunch into the ground as she got a better feel for the mountainside.

"There is something big, dense and made metal deep in the heart of the volcano," she said.

"Sounds like a secret bunker to me," Sokka said, raising his arms hopefully.

Toph stepped back, took a deep breath, and sunk into a horse stance. She earthbent a hole into the mountainside, widening it until it was large enough to enter. Then, she jumped down into it. Sokka and Ellie followed her, and then Aang turned to Appa before he went down.

"Stay safe," he said. "We'll be back soon."

With that, he too disappeared into the depths of the mountain side. The airbender came out into a dark cavern. There, Sokka and Ellie were standing there watching Toph, who was using her earthbending to survey the area.

"This way!" she exclaimed after a brief second. "That one's a dead end!"

"What would we do without you?" Sokka asked happily.

"Perish in burning hot magma," she replied simply.

Sokka, who had just passed a mini lava waterfall in the wall, muttered, "Yeah, pretty much."

The tunnel they were in suddenly widened into a cavern with several holes in the floor. A few of them were emitting streams of lava.

"The tunnel continues on the other side and it leads right to the bunker," Toph told them.

"We'll have to be fast, but careful," Sokka said, beginning to walk forward. He almost past a hole in the ground, but at the last minute, magma erupted from the ground almost burning Sokka's entire front of. Quickly, Aang bent a breeze of cooler air of the lava and solidified it.

"How was that careful?" he asked.

"I was wrong," Sokka nodded. "we need to be fast, careful, and—lucky."

The three leapt and ran through the chamber, narrowly avoiding geysers of erupting magma, and the ones that were two close to comfort were cooled by Aang and Ellie. Finally, they made it to a rock ledge that hung over a large pool of lava. As heat rose up into their faces, they glanced across the second cavern. Their eyes were lit by the dull orange light from the lava.

"There's no floor!" Sokka exclaimed.

"It's just a river of lava," Ellie said softly, in an aggravated tone.

Aang spun his staff open, holding it out to Sokka, saying, "Climb aboard and hold on tight."

As Aang kicked off with the two of them, Ellie's fallen face hardened into determination.

"Right," she said resolutely, opening her own glider. "C'mon, Toph."

Toph grabbed the top of the glider and Ellie took off once she was certain the blind girl had a good grip on the device. The four children flew across the cavern of lava, the two gliders dipping and weaving alongside each other. Then, they landed on solid ground and began running. As they passed a few rock outcroppings, a vast metal wall could be seen before them. Set into the bottom of it was a pair of metal double doors.

"That's some door!" Sokka exclaimed.

Toph walked forward, took off her helmet, and gave the door a good knock. Apparently, whatever she heard was good, because she told them a second later, "Not a problem." She backed up, and then ran forward, hitting the metal where the doors met with her elbows a few times. Then she lifted up two fingers on both hands, dug them into the dent she had made, and forced the doors apart while simultaneously kicking in the bottom with her foot. The instant the door was large enough to pass through, she did so.

"I'm so glad we added you to the group!" Sokka exclaimed, following her.

OA

The four children ran down the path for a while, not seeing anyone until their path merged with another one. Walking along the second path was a haughty-looking elderly man in a red robe. As the children saw him, they skidded to a halt and rounded at him. Two staffs and a sword were pointed at him. Toph kicked up a sizable rock from the ground beneath them. Ellie, smiling wickedly, lit a fire in her palm.

The man thrust his arms into the air before him in a gesture of surrender and exclaimed, "The Fire Lord's chamber is down the hall, to the left, and up the stairs. You can't miss it."

They all eyed him briefly, and then Aang exclaimed, "Thanks!" and the slid off and began running once more. They followed his instructions, continuing on down the pathway, turning left, and then running up a small flight of stairs. As they neared a pair of golden double doors, Sokka checked his timer.

"There's only roughly thirty seconds left before the total eclipse!"

Aang looked down, breathing out a deep breath. Then, he said firmly, "I'm ready. I'm ready to face the Fire Lord."

Two things happened right afterwards: the first was that the boy swung his staff in an arc, pushing the doors open with a strong gust of wind. The second was that Ellie could feel her firebending chi dwindle inside her chest. It was much like the lunar eclipse, except she didn't feel quite as weak. Instead, it felt as though a flame within her had been momentarily snuffed out, but the place where it had been was still warm.

The doors blasted off their hinges entirely, and the four children rushed inside. Ellie and Aang held their staffs at the ready, but as the blonde's eyes landed on the throne, she realized that once again, the Fire Lord had anticipated their move.

"Oh, look," said Azula in a low, aristocratic voice, "It's the Avatar and my brother's boyfriend. Joy. I knew you were still out there," she nodded to Ellie, "but I was the slightest bit unsure about you. Of course, I had a hunch you were still alive. But, it doesn't matter. I've anticipated a move like this for months. What else would you do while the firebenders sat useless in their homes?"

Ellie's face hardened, and in that instance, she realized that she hated Azula.

OA

Standing in front of a smaller, but much more secure door, Zuko took a deep breath. As he did so, the turmoil slid off of Zuko's face. He forced himself to go blank. Then, he said softly, "I'm ready to face you."

The teenager moved forward. Being the prince, the door opened easily for him. He walked towards the dais on which his father sat. As he did so, a troop of firebenders left at a gesture from the Fire Lord.

"Why are you here?" Ozai asked slowly in his silky voice.

"I'm here to tell you the truth," Zuko said, adding mentally that most of it was a truth that he himself had only recently accepted.

"Telling the truth during the middle of an eclipse," Ozai mused. "This should be interesting."

The last of the bodyguards left the room, and the door slid shut behind him.

"First of all," Zuko said, starting with an easier topic for him, "It was Azula who took out the Avatar, not me."

"Why would she lie to me about that?" the man asked, a black eyebrow raising curiously.

"Because the Avatar's not dead," Zuko stated firmly. "In fact, he's probably leading this invasion right now."

Instantly the Fire Lord's bemused expression was gone, replaced by one of pure rage. "Get out!" Ozai barked, continuing in a hiss, "Get out of my sight right now, if you know what's good for you."

"That's another thing. I'm no longer taking orders from you."

"You will obey me, or this defiant breath shall be your last!" Ozai growled.

"Think again," Zuko dissented, drawing his swords and pointing one at his father. "I am going to speak my mind, and you are going to listen."

OA

"Where is he?" Aang asked. "Where is the Fire Lord, right now?"

Azula said nothing. Instead, she smirked and raised an eyebrow.

"You're in no position to refuse," Sokka said, pointing his sword at her. "You're powerless and outnumbered."

"And we are definitely not powerless," Ellie added, whipping her staff around for good effect.

Still, the princess said nothing. Then, she finally told them, "When I left Ba Sing Se, I brought home some souvenirs." Two men dropped down onto the ground, clad in green and black. "The Dai Li agents."

Aang and Ellie both moved forward to attack at the same time, but their slices of air hit a great earth wall, which the Dai Li closed before them. As the dust settled, Ellie turned to the others, stopping Toph as she readied herself to earthbend.

"Can't you just find him?" Ellie asked. "You found this place."

"Finding a giant metal structure in a mountain and finding one man out of possibly hundreds are two very different things," Toph muttered. "Besides, I don't know him specifically. I wouldn't know him if I did feel him."

Ellie growled and forced herself to think. There had to be a better way. Unfortunately, she didn't have much longer to think. Impatient and not knowing why the children weren't fighting back, the Dai Li made the next move.

Ellie, Toph, and Aang made their way to block the strokes of earth. They all jumped around, kicking through blocks of earth and propelling each other in different directions. Toph bent a stream of earth towards Azula, who used the momentum of the strike to flip over and land in front of the throne. She locked eyes with Aang, and the boy began running forward.

One of the Dai Li agents ran along the wall, landed on the ground in between the two with enough impact to dent the floor, and bent another great slab of earth in their way. Aang kicked through it, used his spear to thrust the man away while he kicked through yet another earthen slab, and then ran after Azula.

She dodged his air blasts and headed back towards the door. Ellie and Toph joined Aang. Together the three of them used the three bending types left available as Ellie uncorked her pouch and dropped her staff. Still, the princess managed to stay ahead of them.

Then, just as Sokka was managing to climb through the whole Aang had created in the wall earlier, Azula jumped through it, her face inches away from his. The girl lost momentum momentarily as she landed, having to roll forward slightly to keep from breaking her ankles. Then, she was on her feet again, running out into the tunnel beyond the empty doorway. Sokka turned to try to get down, but froze as not one, but four more people passed through above him. Then, he dropped down to the ground.

"I can't pin her down!" Aang exclaimed as they ran. "She's too quick!"

The others said nothing, but kept running. The remaining Dai Li agent blocked the doorway with earth. The two Avatars easily blasted through it, not deterred in the slightest. Ellie brought the ground beneath the man ahead of them towards them slightly, causing the Dai Li agent to stumble and fall. Then, Toph bent a pillar of earth beneath him, pushing him into a hollow metal beam. There, Toph bent the metal, trapping the man. Satisfied, she kept running.

"Wait!" Sokka cried, causing the other three to halt and look at him. "She's just wasting our time. Ellie's right—we need to try to find him on our own."

Already, Azula was far enough ahead of them that they couldn't see her around the bend. Most likely, she was still running.

"And how do you propose we do that?" Toph asked. "Like I already said—"

"You can't pick him out individually, I know," Sokka nodded, "but you can look for highly protected areas."

"That's right!" Ellie exclaimed, nearly smacking herself. "He'll be wherever the most firepower is. There'll be more firebenders surrounding a mostly empty space than anywhere else down here, and he'll probably be in the most fortified area of the bunker."

"So she's looking for the most firepower—" Aang started.

"—and the strongest metal wall," Toph finished, catching on. "All right. This might work."

She took a deep breath, and stepped forward with one foot, bringing her hands down to the ground. While Toph was searching, Ellie turned to Sokka. "How much time do we have left?"

He looked down at his timer.

"Two minutes," he said with a groan.

Ellie turned back to Toph, who was completely still with concentration, and said softly yet urgently, "C'mon…"

OA

"For so long, all I've wanted was for you to love me," Zuko continued as he spoke to his father. "To accept me. I thought it was my honor that I wanted, but really I was just trying to please you. You—my father, who banished me just for speaking out of turn. My father, who challenged me—a thirteen year old boy—to an agni kai. How can you possibly justify a duel with a child?"

"It was to teach you respect!" Ozai spat.

"It was cruel! And it was wrong," Zuko argued. He realized that every single thing he was saying was treason, but he didn't care—he was beyond past the point where he cared what he father thought. It felt so good to finally voice these things—to finally man up and accept that his father would never be the person Zuko wanted—wished—him to be.

"You've learned nothing," Ozai growled.

"No, I've learned everything. And I've had to learn it on my own," Zuko added. "Growing up, we were taught that the Fire Nation was the greatest civilization in history, and somehow the war was our way of sharing our greatness with the world. What a terrible lie that was! The world doesn't see our greatness. They hate us, and we deserve. We've created an era of fear in the world, and if don't want the world to destroy itself, we need to create an era of love and peace."

Ozai laughed, "Your uncle has gotten to you, hasn't he?"

"Yes," Zuko replied, his face softening into a smile. "He has."

OA

"I've got it!" Toph exclaimed seconds later. "There's a place—at the heart of the tunnels—that's fortified with heavy steel and surrounded by firebenders. Even muted by the eclipse, I can still feel their chi."

"Anyone inside?" Sokka asked.

"Two people."

"Ozai," Aang muttered.

"And someone else," Ellie reasoned.

"This way!" Toph exclaimed, and they took off at a run once more.

"How long will it take?" Sokka asked.

For a second, Toph didn't reply. They simply continued running. Then, she said slowly, "It's going to be close."

OA

"After I leave here today, I'm going to free Uncle Iroh from his prison. And I'm going to beg for his forgiveness. He's the one who's been a real father to me."

"I suppose that's great!" Ozai muttered sarcastically. "Maybe he can pass down to you the ways of tea and failure."

"—But I've come to an even more important decision," Zuko continued, plowing on as though ripping off a stiff bandage. "I'm going to join the Avatar, and I'm going to help him defeat you."

"Really?" Ozai asked, his voice laced with malice. "Since you're a full-blown traitor now, why wait? You've got your swords, and I'm powerless to stop you. Why don't you just do it now?"

"Because I know my own destiny," the boy replied. "Taking you down is the Avatar's destiny." And with that, he sheathed his swords. "Goodbye."

As his son began walking away, Ozai shouted, "Coward! If you had any true courage, you would stick around until the sun comes out…" He paused, seeing no response in his son. "Don't you want to know what happened to your mother?"

He must have struck a chord, for Zuko instantly halted.

"What happened that night?"

"My father, Fire Lord Azulon, had commanded me to do the unthinkable—to you, my own son, and I was going to do it. Your mother found out, and swore she would protect you at any cost. She knew I wanted the throne, and she proposed a plan—a plan in which I would become Fire Lord, and you would remain alive. Your mother did vicious, treasonous things that night. She knew the consequences of her actions, and accepted them. For her treason, she was to be banished."

"So she's alive," Zuko breathed.

"Perhaps," Ozai replied. "But now, I realize that banishment is too merciful. Your punishment will be much steeper."

As he said this, Zuko knew he had pushed it too far. He could feel his flame within reignite, and knew that the sun had returned. In that moment, he knew what his father was going to do. The Fire Lord got to his feet, slowly drawing his hands apart and drawing a circle with two fingers. Lightning sparked before him, and he paused before releasing it.

As he did, Zuko took a deep, cleansing breath, and outstretched his own fingers. In the split second before the lightning reached him, he was so concentrated that he didn't even notice the door creak open behind him. But Ozai did. He saw four figures standing in the doorway. They were mere children. One of the two in front had long, blonde hair, which was pulled into a Fire Nation style topknot on her head. The other was bald with blue tattoos.

His eyes widened in surprise, and so did Aang's as he saw the Fire Lord for the first time. Then, the lightning reached Zuko. It began traveling up his arm, and he allowed it, directing it down into his stomach, up the other arm, and then back out towards Ozai. The dais in front of him exploded into flames and the Fire Lord was blasted back.

Zuko turned to run, and found himself face to face with Ellie.

"Having family troubles?" she asked as he ran up to her and the others.

"Yeah," he said, glancing at Aang. "He didn't like it when I said I'd help the Avatar defeat him."

"I believe that," Sokka muttered as they parted, and the prince began to run, leading them out of the bunker. They ran faster than Ellie thought was possible, and made it out of the bunker in record time. Then, as they began running back towards where they had come in—where they had left Appa—Zuko began running in the opposite direction.

"Where are you going?" Ellie asked, skidding to a halt. Zuko did the same.

"Going to get a balloon," he replied. "They won't attack if we're riding in one."

"But—" Ellie broke off, looking and seeing that the others had already disappeared down the other tunnel. Then, she remembered seeing Sokka and Zuko crashing a balloon into boiling waters surrounding a prison.

"Trust me," Zuko said firmly. She looked into his eyes and saw desperation there. There was a plea in his golden irises—he didn't want to be on a submarine full of strangers—or a bison for that matter. The prince wanted time to think before he had to face people who had been his enemy only a few short hours before. But even more than that, he had a mission to complete.

"I do," she said softly, knowing full well that Zuko needed to do what he needed to do.

OA

"Where's Zuko?" Sokka asked as they flew away on Appa. "Did he just desert the Fire Nation? Is he coming with us?"

"Yes," Ellie nodded. "He's getting a balloon."

"Why?" Sokka asked.

"Trust me, we're gonna need it," the blonde replied. "You especially."

"Ookay?" Sokka asked slowly.

"Don't question it," Toph muttered, giving Sokka's arm a smack. "I'm just glad we have a future knowing wisdom spouter in our group."

Seconds later, Appa touched down on the ground. Katara ran up to them, and Aang looked down at her with a defeated face.

"It was all a trap!" Sokka exclaimed, climbing over the edge of the saddle. "Azula suspected we'd come, and wasted just enough of our time that we missed the eclipse. We've just got to get to the beaches as fast as we can. If we can make it to the submarines, maybe we can get away safely."

"They've got airpower," Aang interrupted, looking at the balloons and blimps in the distance. "So do we. I'm going to do whatever I can to slow them down."

He threw his glider in the air and leapt onto it. Katara ran towards Appa and said, "Ellie, we can help too."

Ellie nodded, and opened her own glider. The two girls rose, following after the Avatar. They shot up into the air, heading for the hot air balloons. Aang shoved his glider through one while Katara used waterbending to slice another in half and Ellie shot a third down with firebending. Then, they began to lose altitude and found themselves under fire from the blimps. The two gliders dodged the blasts narrowly. Katara was forced to spin a disk of water above her head, letting it absorb the fire.

"We can't keep them all back!" Katara shouted. "There are too many of them!"

"Let's join the others," Aang yelled in returned.

"Agreed!" Ellie nodded.

OA

Running as fast as he possibly could, Zuko made his way for the royal prison. He was going so fast, he didn't even stop to notice that the door was ajar, nor that there were guards missing from their posts. What he did notice was the man lying prone on the ground before his uncle's cell. The cell door behind him was blasted away entirely.

Zuko picked the man up, shaking him slightly.

"Where's my uncle?" he asked.

"He's gone," the guard replied. "—busted himself out! I've never seen anything like it. It was like a one man army!"

OA

They had barely made it down the mountainside when a blimp floated directly above them and opened a pair of doors at the bottom. Sokka looked up and saw this. Looking at the people around him, he exclaimed, "Try and find some cover! I think we're about to see some bombs!"

Ellie looked up and saw a cylindrical shape located within the airship's bottom port. Then, the sky was blocked from view as Toph earthbend a large slab of stone above their heads, supporting it with two earthen pillars at the front. Then, sure enough, they could hear explosions all around them. Some were deafening, most likely direct hits, which caused the stone above them to crack. Each time it did, Toph raised another pillar to support it, while Aang and Ellie helped hold it in the air just in case.

As the smoke cleared, they could see the blimps continuing to fly towards the water.

"Why aren't they turning around to attack us again?" Katara asked.

"They're heading for the beach," Aang mused. Then, his eyes widened in shock. "They're gonna destroy the submarines!"

"How are we all going to escape?" Sokka asked hopelessly.

"We're not," his dad said.

"Then our only chance is to stand and fight," Sokka reasoned. "We have the Avatars. We could still win."

"Yes, with the Avatar we could still win—another day. You kids have to leave. You have to escape on Appa together.

"What?" Katara asked, moving closer to her father. "We can't leave you behind! We can't leave any of you behind!"

"You're our only chance in the long run," Hakoda said firmly. "You and Sokka have to go with Aang somewhere safe. It's the only way to keep hope alive."

"The youngest of our group should go with you," Bato reasoned. "The adults will stay behind and surrender. We'll be prisoners, but we'll all survive this battle."

"I've got some experience with a Fire Nation prison," Haru's father told them. "It won't be easy, but we'll get by."

As he was talking, the others were watching the airships. As soon as he finished, Sokka interrupted the conversation and exclaimed, "They're at the beach already!"

The blimps came to a stop just above the water line, letting loose a barrage of bombs. Whips of water flew into the air, catching most of them, but there were too many. Soon, one hit a sub, and then another, and then another. Fire flew into the air, smoke and ash rising towards the clouds, as the surface of each of the subs exploded and caught fire. Stricken, the others watched from their vantage point halfway up the mountain.

Then, Hakoda's face hardened and he commanded his son, "Go. Now. And that's an order."

The children nodded. Toph earthbent herself up onto the bison's back. As the mechanist carried his son, and allowed himself to be raised on a pillar, Ellie airbent the boy's wheelchair onto the back of the saddle, tying it in place to keep it secure. With a murmured, "By, son," the mechanist hugged his son and was lowered back to the ground.

Ellie glanced from where Katara and Sokka were hugging their father, to the mechanist, and then where Pipsqueak was helping the Duke up and saying his own goodbyes. Then, Ellie caught Aang's eyes. It was in that moment that she truly realized that they were both alone in the world when it came to immediate family. Then, she looked over to Toph, who stood forlornly on the saddle—her parents in the Earth Kingdom somewhere. Needing the reassurance, and half wondering if Toph did as well, Ellie stepped over to her and hugged her tight.

"I miss my mom," Toph whispered. It was so soft that it could easily have been missed. Ellie completely understood. It was moments like these where all seemed lost that a child—whether they were eight or sixteen—wanted the reassuring presence of a parent.

"Me too," Ellie nodded. "Me too."

Haru finished his goodbye to his father, as did Sokka and Katara. Once the three of them were situated in the saddle, Aang jumped up onto Appa's head. He looked down at the ground, feeling lost and alone for not the first time that year. Katara moved towards him, placing her hand on his back. He looked at her, and wiped away the tears that had just spilled over onto his cheeks. Then, he got to his feet and looked out at the men standing below.

"Thank you all for being so brave, and so strong," he said. "I'm gonna make this up to you."

The boy sat once more, and whipped the reigns. Appa rose into the air and they began flying at break-neck speeds. As winds and clouds rushed by, and the caldera grew distant behind them, Aang called to the others, "I know just the place where we'll be safe for a while—The Western Air Temple."

Ellie, who was sitting at the back of the saddle with Toph still, turned and rested her arms on the sides of the saddle. Behind them, she could just define a red orb—a hot air balloon that no doubt carried Zuko. She briefly wondered how the others would accept him, before turning back and looking at the faces of children who had all left someone behind.

Ellie almost wondered if she was better off not having anyone there to lose.

* * *

 **I'll probably be updating later today-after the eclipse. Hope all of you can see it somehow. I actually drove all the way to a point of totality so I'm good to see the entire thing. This whole thing with the eclipse has made me wonder about the TV show. What are the odds that the Fire Nation was where the total eclipse was going to be, huh? I guess since it's a cartoon, it doesn't mater that much, but I like to think that the spirits were very much in favor of Aang that day. Just some food for thought.**

 **~LittleMissMycroft**


	40. Part 3: En Route

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: the Last Airbender.**

 **So I never did end up posting these on Monday because I was a little thrilled by the eclipse and didn't really do much but sit in my backyard all day. Therefore, I am now posting the chapters today. Hope you enjoy! R &R!**

* * *

 **Chapter Ten: En route to the Western Air Temple**

They flew for a while in silence. Clouds passed by all around them. As the sun began to set, they turned pink, orange and purple. The sun was to their left, as they were flying north. Then, Ellie caught Sokka turning and eyeing the clouds behind them critically—no doubt looking at Zuko's balloon. Then, the teenage boy muttered, "So what are we gonna do about Zuko, back there?"

"Zuko?" Katara asked, turning and seeing the red orb floating in the clouds behind them. "Why is Zuko following us?"

"He's on our side now," Ellie replied.

"Are you sure?" Katara asked, craning her neck as she peered suspiciously at the balloon behind them.

Aang remembered seeing Zuko fighting his own father, throwing lightning back at the man with a technique the Avatar had never seen before. He remembered seeing the pure rage on the Fire Lord's face as he attacked his own son, and then the shock at the Avatar being there. Zuko would not have helped them get away if he wasn't on their side—not with his father showing that much malice towards the Avatar, someone who the prince was trying to catch only a few months ago.

"I'm sure," Aang said firmly, turning and facing them.

Katara nodded. She wasn't sure if she trusted Ellie when it came to Zuko—knowing that the girl had a crush on him, and probably only saw the best in him—but she would trust Aang's judgement without question.

"Which brings us back to the question," Sokka interrupted. "What are we going to do with him? Let him join the group?"

"Well, we've already decided that Aang needs to learn fire from someone other than Ellie," Toph said.

"Yeah," Ellie nodded. "The element is temperamental enough that having me teach him would be a _bad_ idea. I mean, with air, Aang was my only option…Aang _definitely_ has more than one option available to learn fire."

"And one of them's floating behind us, wanting to join our group," Toph added.

Sokka and Katara exchanged worried glances.

"It'll be really convenient," Ellie prompted them. Katara raised an eyebrow at her. "Hey, as being a person who knows the future, I can officially vouch for Zuko."

Katara sighed.

"Fine," she muttered. "But one hint of him wanting to capture Aang, and he's gone."

Ellie nodded, "I will do the honors of kicking his butt back to the Fire Nation myself if it makes you feel any better."

"It does," Sokka nodded.

Aang turned back to them, and said, "Let's signal him if we can. I'm going to try to find someplace to land. I'm sure Appa's getting tired carrying all of these people."

"I've got it," Ellie said, opening her glider. With that, she took off with the intent of telling Zuko briefly of what they had decided.

OA

They landed for the night on a small, uninhabited island. The group had reached the chain of islands where the Western Air Temple was located, but Aang didn't want to fly Appa all night. When they touched down, they all slid to the ground gratefully. Katara unloaded her cooking supplies while Ellie set to making a fire, and the rest began unloading the things they would need for the night. By the time dark had officially set in, and Ellie had a fire going, Zuko landed his balloon.

He walked forward hesitantly, stopping and watching the others move. While a few were setting up a few tents and moving to try to find more firewood, Zuko could distinctly see Ellie and Katara sitting by the fire, chopping up vegetables and stirring a large pot of stew. Zuko stood there, just beyond the point where the light reached, unsure of how to move forward—especially since he had attacked half of the people there sometime within the recent past.

Then, he was saved having to make the decision to move forward by himself, because the Water Tribe boy nearly walked straight into him. At the noise that the two made of surprise, Ellie glanced up and saw the familiar form of Zuko. A smile split her face, and she exclaimed, "Zuko! Come over here!"

Zuko walked forward on stilted legs. Coming to a halt beside the blonde girl, he stood there nervously with his arms crossed. The Water Tribe girl looked up at him suspiciously. Zuko swallowed. Then, the waterbender smiled and said, "You're lucky you have Ellie, here, to vouch for you. We probably would have just left you out to fend for yourself if it weren't for her knowledge of the future."

Ellie's eyes darted to Katara, and she frantically made slicing gestures across her neck. Zuko, caught the motion, and his eyes darted between them. His eyebrows furrowed down.

"Future?" he asked.

Ellie sighed and looked down at the ground. Then, she said slowly, "I'm kind of from the future. I know everything that will happen, all the way up to September…more or less?"

"Is that why you always know what to say to bolster my self-confidence?" Zuko asked, his eyebrows drawing down. "Hang on, are you telling me that all of those times when I almost caught the Avatar— _you could have told me how to do it right?_ "

"Yes," Ellie said, lifting her chin defiantly. "But I knew it was not your destiny to do so."

Katara glanced between the two, feeling as though she were listening in on a very private conversation—which she probably was. But, as she looked at Ellie, who was standing up to Zuko without a glimmer of fear in her eyes—as she was telling him that she _could have_ told Zuko how to capture Aang, but _didn't—_ Katara found herself having a new respect for the girl.

At the same time, Zuko was processing Ellie's words with his eyebrows furrowed. They reminded him eerily of the words the blonde had spoken to him back in Ba Sing Se: " _Yes, I'm traveling with the Avatar, but I'm not trying to keep you from your destiny. I only want what's best for you_." He remembered asking her what exactly that was, and why she had joined the Avatar, to which she had only replied, _"Believe me, I_ will _tell you someday, but not today. You're not ready._ "

Zuko looked up from the dusty ground, straight into her golden-green eyes.

"Am I ready now?" he asked.

Ellie's face slowly split into a grin and she laughed, "Of course, you are." Then, she glanced down at Katara. "Do you mind?"

"Oh," Katara mumbled, getting to her feet. "I'll just—go tell the others that dinner is almost ready. Keep an eye on the stew, alright?"

Ellie nodded, and the two firebenders watched the girl move away from the fire. As she did so, Ellie leaned forward and picked up the ladle, giving the stew a good stir. Once Katara was gone, Ellie looked up at Zuko, who was still standing.

"You might want to sit down," she told him, pausing to pat the ground beside her. The boy nodded and sat heavily on the spot where she had indicated, letting out a little sigh. Then, Ellie began, "Well…I suppose I should just start at the beginning…You might remember that day, all those months ago, when I appeared in the water beside your ship?"

"Almost a year ago now," Zuko nodded.

"Well, I quite literally just— _appeared_ there," she said slowly, trying to figure out how to tell Zuko e _verything_. "I'm from the future."

Zuko nodded, already knowing this since it had been established to him only a few minutes before. Ellie paused. Zuko decided that she would need prompting to continue. Therefore, he asked her, "What was it like?"

"Huh?" she asked, looking up at him from where she hand been staring at her fingers.

"Where you're from," Zuko prompted her. "What was it like?"

"Hot," Ellie laughed briefly, setting down the ladle. "Not unlike the Fire Nation. It only got cool in the winters, and it was _hot_ in the summer. Everything was so different. I went to school from August to May. People rode around in things called cars, and there was no bending."

"No bending?" Zuko asked incredulously. "I couldn't even imagine—"

"I know," Ellie said softly. "I didn't even know I was a bender until I got here—"

"And you firebended for the first time on the deck of my ship," he mused, receiving a nod.

"Yes," she said. The fourteen-year-old had gone really still, and was looking down at her hands once more. Then, she added in a small voice, "And I waterbent for the first time that evening while talking to your uncle."

"You—? Water—"

Ellie nodded. Afraid to look at him, she leaned forward, picked up the ladle once more, began to stir the stew, and continued, "Your uncle suspected that something was off about me when he saw my eyes glow orange. I guess you just passed it off as a fluke, but…When I went to go and talk to him that night after not being able to sleep, he placed a cup of water, a candle, and a piece of earth on his desk."

"You're an Avatar," Zuko mused, sitting back against Appa's furry leg. "I don't know why I didn't see it before. It certainly explains a lot."

His voice was surprisingly calm.

"You—" the girl beside him started, her eyes snapping up to his face. Zuko wasn't looking at her anymore. Instead, he was staring ahead at the fire, his face smooth—there was no hint of anger there. "You're not mad?"

"I could be," he said. "I could be furious that all those months I spent chasing after the Avatar, I could have just brought _you_ in—" He paused, and then added bitterly, "but what good would that do me now? If I _had_ done that, I would never have gotten to know you. I would never—"

He broke off, wrenching his eyes away from the fire, and letting them land on the girl's face. While he was speaking, she had stopped stirring, staring at his conflicted face with shock and wonder. The two of them sat there, staring into each other's eyes. Ellie searched his, making sure that there truly was no hint of anger there. All she saw was an earnest honesty, and a softness that was new to her. Meanwhile, Zuko was looking into her face, drinking in the sight of those golden eyes rimmed with green, the blonde hair that fell around her face, the olive skin that was illuminated by the fire. Zuko glanced down at Ellie's lips, wondering when their faces had gotten so close—

"All right, who's ready for some food?"

It felt as though a trance had been broken as Ellie and Zuko sprang apart. The girl could feel her face growing hot, and she looked down at the ground, putting her hands up to her face. Meanwhile, Zuko was sitting there looking dazed—as though he had completely lost himself in the moment and still hadn't brought himself back out yet. Ellie peeked through her fingers to see Sokka regarding them with a face, slack with surprise.

Running up behind him was Katara, exclaiming, "I'm so sorry, I tried explaining to him that you two were talking, but he—" The girl broke off, glancing between Ellie and Zuko. Then, she looked at her brother. "What just happened?"

"Uh…"

"Nothing," Ellie said, shooting to her feet. "Nothing happened. We were just talking and—and Sokka interrupted."

Zuko, who seemed to have found where he was, was looking intently between Ellie and Katara. Behind the Water Tribe siblings, the others had appeared, watching curiously. The waterbender's eyes darted between the two firebenders once more. Then, she saw the others staring. Katara cleared her throat.

"Well, then," she said loudly. "Could you help me serve?"

Ellie nodded emphatically, turning and getting the bowls ready. With that, the two waterbenders picked up blobs of the stew and settled them into bowls. Zuko watched curiously, having never seen Ellie bend anything other than fire, and accepted his bowl from her with a smile. She flushed, and was glad that it was too dim to tell. Then, they all sat down around the fire and began to enjoy their meal.

OA

Teo, the Duke, and Zuko rode in the hot air balloon while the others walked beside Appa. They had all decided that it would be best if they split up the group a little so that Appa's burden would be a little lighter. They had decided that the two people who didn't have a direct vendetta would be best riding with the fire prince. Katara probably would have come as well, if Aang hadn't remained on Appa to fly the beast. Therefore when they departed, Ellie, Toph, and Zuko rode in the balloon while Aang, Sokka, Katara, Teo, the Duke, and Haru rode on Appa.

They had started out the morning all riding in the air, but by the time the afternoon had arrived, Appa had tired from carrying the extra equipment and people. By then they had reached the largest island of the chain, so Aang landed the bison and they began to walk. Ellie saw this, and motioned to Zuko, who was operating their balloon. The firebender pulled a chain, opening a lid at the top of the craft, and bringing them down to where they could watch the others more closely. Then, for the next few hours, they all bit back their resentments towards the Fire Nation and took turns riding in the balloon to give their feet a rest.

During the time when Teo and the Duke rode in the balloon, Ellie and Toph were walking with the others. As they did so, Katara muttered, "This is humiliating."

"What?" Sokka asked. "Getting thoroughly spanked by the Fire Nation, or having to walk all the way to the Western Air Temple?"

Katara hesitated. "Both, I guess."

"I'm sorry, guys," Aang apologized, "but Appa gets tired carrying all these people."

"Plus," Ellie added. "We're not walking the _entire_ way. We do still have a full functioning hot air balloon up there."

"Yeah," Sokka muttered, glancing at the basket that floated a few yards behind them. Zuko was standing next to the furnace with his arms crossed, while the Duke sat on the side of the basket, and Teo was no doubt sitting on the floor. From what they could tell, none of the three were saying a word.

"I wonder how the rest of the troops are," Sokka mused.

"They're probably on their way to a prison," Haru muttered bitterly. "It seems my dad just got out of one, and now he's going back in..." He trailed off. "I miss my dad."

"I miss not having blisters on my feet," Sokka whined.

Suddenly, Toph came to a halt and exclaimed, "Hey, we're here!"

Ellie looked forward. They had been walking along a flat plateau for a couple of hours now. It seemed they had just reached the end of the plateau—just beyond where they stood, the earth dropped away sharply into a ravine. Mist rose up in the ravine, laying around like a dense cloud. They could only just barely make out the other side, and there were no buildings in sight.

"Uh, I think your feet need their eyes checked," Katara said, looking out at the ravine.

"No," Aang interrupted. "We _are_ here. We're standing right on top of it."

Ellie looked down at the ground beneath her feet. Then, she said, "I'll signal to Zuko that we're here."

She turned, and began waving her arm. Up on the balloon, the Duke spotted her and nudged Zuko. Zuko looked up and saw that they had stopped. He nodded to her, and brought the balloon down to the ground. With that, he and the Duke scrambled out of the basket while Haru helped Teo out and into his wheelchair.

"I think we're here," she told Zuko as he looked at her questioningly.

The prince glanced around dubiously, and muttered, "I don't see anything."

"Everyone get back on Appa," Aang said suddenly.

"We'll go with Zuko again," Ellie said gesturing to Toph.

"I'll help Teo," Sokka offered, helping Haru lift up the other boy's wheelchair.

Zuko sighed and climbed back into the basket. Ellie and Toph followed, and the three of them waited. Then, one Appa had taken off, they followed. As they flew down around the edge of the cliff, Ellie let out a gasp. Hanging from the underside of the cliff were multiple buildings. They were intricate and well crafted, with courtyards and fountains, and little embellishments.

"Wow," Ellie breathed, looking at it.

"Looks like they're landing over there," Zuko muttered, gesturing to a nearby courtyard.

He shot another blast into the furnace and pulled on the chain, letting them drop slightly as they moved forward. They landed on the courtyard floor next to Appa, and Zuko snuffed out the flames that burned in the hot air balloon's furnace. Then, the three climbed out once more and joined the others.

"This is really different from the Northern Air Temple," Teo observed as he looked around. "I wonder if there are any secret rooms?"

"Let's go check it out!" Haru grinned, running past them.

"I'll race you, Duke," Teo said, smiling as well.

"I told you!" the small boy cried as Teo sped off. "It's _the_ Duke!"

Aang made his way to follow, but Katara stopped him, grabbing his staff as he passed.

"You guys go," she told the Duke. "I think we need to talk about some things."

The boy nodded and ran off.

"Why can't I go?" Aang asked.

"We need to decide what we're going to do, now," Katara said. "And since you're one of the only two Avatars we have, I think you should be a part of this."

"Alright," Aang said, setting down his staff and sitting on a chunk of a fallen pillar. "So what's the new plan?"

Katara and Sokka sat on another chunk, and Ellie and Zuko sat on the third one. Toph meanwhile, situated herself on a pillar chunk that was still sitting upright. The formation created a small little triangle, making it easy for them to talk to each other.

"Well, if you ask me," Sokka said, "the new plan should just be the old plan! You just need to master all four elements and confront the Fire Lord before the comet comes!"

"Oh, yeah, that's great," Aang mumbled, laying back on his make-shift bench. "We'll just do that."

Ellie and Zuko, being the ones who would have to help him learn firebending, glanced at each other dubiously.

* * *

 **So I probably could have continued into the Firebending Masters in this chapter, but then it would have been really long, so I decided to cut it here. Up next will be the Firebending Masters. Yay! I always enjoyed that one.**

 **~LittleMissMycroft**


	41. Part 3: Photogenic Scenery

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: the Last Airbender**

* * *

 **Chapter Eleven: Photogenic Scenery**

"I know you're nervous, but remember. Firebending in and of itself, is not something to fear."

Ellie sat on the railing that enclosed the small courtyard in which Zuko and Aang stood. Zuko was speaking to the younger boy—this was going to be their first firebending lesson.

"Right," Aang nodded, taking a deep breath. "Not something to fear."

"But if you don't respect it," Zuko continued, "it will chew you up and spit you out like an angry komodo rhino!"

Aang flinched as the older boy ended his tirade with a shout.

"Now show me what you've got. Any firebending at all."

Aang nodded, straightening and taking a few deep breaths. Then, he stepped out into a firebending stance and thrust his palm out. A little puff of smoke emitted from it. Aang grinned nervously at the other boy, and then sighed, "Maybe I need a little more instruction. Perhaps a demonstration?"

"Good idea. You might want to take a couple steps back."

Aang did so, backing up until he was nearly against the war wall. Ellie stayed where she was, knowing she be able to fend off any stray flames that came her way. Zuko took a deep breath, in through his nose and out through his mouth. Then, with a look of fierce determination, and a little cry, he thrust out his own palm. A small flame, smaller than a campfire, burst forth.

Aang clapped.

"What was that?" Zuko exclaimed, looking down at his hands. 'That was the worst firebending I've ever seen!"

"I thought it was—nice," Aang replied.

Ellie snorted. Zuko looked at her.

"You knew this was going to happen, didn't you?" he asked. Ellie said nothing, only shrugging slightly. Zuko hung his head. Then, he thrust out his fist once, twice, three more times. Still he couldn't produce a sizable blast. "Gaaaaagh! Why is this happening!"

"Maybe it's the altitude," Aang mused.

"Yeah, maybe," Zuko muttered unconvincingly.

OA

"Bad news guys, I've lost my stuff." They all looked up at Zuko, who had just walked up to the campfire. Ellie, who sat between Katara and Toph, took a sip of her stew.

"Don't look at me," Toph said quickly, putting down her bowl of stew. "I didn't take your stuff." Zuko observed her with a look of confusion on his face.

"No, I meant my firebending," he replied. "It's gone."

On the other side of Ellie, Katara laughed. It was not a very mirthful laugh, yet it wasn't a mean one either. Then, she said, "I'm sorry. That's just a little ironic. Wouldn't it have been nice for us if you had lost your firebending ages ago?"

"Well, it's not lost, it's just—weaker somehow," Zuko explained.

"Maybe you're just not as good as you think you are," Haru piped up.

"Ouch," Toph grinned.

There was a moment of silence, in which Zuko's eyes widened and he had a look as though a light bulb had just been lit over his head. The prince said thoughtfully, "I bet it's because I changed sides!"

"That's ridiculous," Katara muttered into her bowl.

"I don't know," Aang said slowly. "Maybe it isn't. Maybe you're firebending comes from rage, and you just don't have enough anger to fuel it anymore."

Ellie shook her head, remembering something Iroh had told her ages ago during her training. "Power in anger is never the answer," she said quietly. "Instead, you must find your inner drive." She looked up at the others. "Your inner fire, if you will."

"So how do you do that?" Sokka asked. "By jumping into a volcano?"

"No, I would suggest going back to the original source of firebending for a start," Toph suggested.

"So is it jumping into a volcano?" Sokka pressed.

"I don't know," Toph shrugged. "For earthbending, it's the badger moles. One day when I was little, I ran away and hid in a cave. That's where I met them. They were blind, just like me, so we understood each other. I was able to learn earthbending, not just as a weapon, but as an extension of senses."

"That's amazing, Toph," Aang grinned. "The monks always told _us_ that the original airbenders were the bison." He leaned out of the circle and looked at Appa. "Maybe you can teach me sometime, buddy!"

"Aren't the original firebenders the dragons?" Ellie asked.

"Yeah," Zuko said in a downcast voice, "but that doesn't help me. They're extinct."

"What do you mean?" Aang asked. "Roku had a dragon. And there were plenty of dragons around when I was a kid."

"Well, they aren't around anymore, okay!" Zuko shouted.

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry," the younger boy said quickly, raising his hands in a placating manner.

"But maybe there's another way," the firebender mused. "The first people to learn from the dragons were the ancient Sun Warriors."

"Sun Warriors?" Aang asked. "Well, I know _they_ weren't around when I was a kid."

"No, they died off thousands of years ago. But their civilization isn't too far from where we are now. Maybe we can learn something from poking around their ruins."

"It's like the monks used to tell me," the Avatar grinned. "Sometimes the pas can be felt by the present."

"So, what, maybe you'll pick up some ancient Sun Warrior energy by standing where they stood thousands of years ago?" Sokka asked.

"More or less," Zuko replied. "Either I find a new way to firebend—or this Avatar has to find a new teacher."

"Yay, road trip!" Ellie squealed. "I'm coming too!"

OA

Zuko and Ellie were in Appa's saddle while Aang was on the bison's head, steering. Zuko propped his arms up on the side of the saddle, staring down into the water as it passed by below. Ellie, on the other hand, was laying on her back, watching as the clouds drifted overhead, lamenting the loss of technology. As she sat there, lying on her back and watching the clouds, she realized that they were flying towards the Sun Warrior civilization. The beautiful, Aztec-like ruins of the Sun Warrior civilization.

Where was her phone when she needed it?

She could take beautiful pictures of the ruins and save to upload when she returned to her own time… _if_ she returned to her own time. But, perhaps her phone had been left behind for a reason. The girl remembered placing it on the sidewalk above the creek when she had looped her dogs' leashes around the railing. What would her trip be like if she hadn't set her phone down?

Ellie began running through all of the moments where she would have liked a camera—it certainly would have been great back when Toph and the boys had been creating wigs and arm-pit hair out of Appa's fur. Or perhaps Ba Sing Se. Aerial pictures of that city would make any agromaniac hipster drool. Even further back, it would have been great to have a camera back on Kyoshi Island when Aang made a giant fish spew water on the village and Zuko had sulked on rhino-back, soaking wet.

Ellie shook her head as a voice interrupted her thoughts.

"We've been riding for hours," Zuko complained. "I don't know why, but I thought this thing would go a lot faster!"

"You only thought so because it moves way faster than your old clunker of a ship," Ellie replied, rolling over onto her stomach to look at him.

"Ugh, I can believe this," Zuko muttered in a half-whisper, laying his head down on his arms.

Below them, Appa let out a bellow.

"Appa's right, Zuko!" Aang called from the front of the bison. "Typically our group starts missions with a more upbeat attitude! I'm sure you'll get the hang of it!"

Catching Zuko roll his eyes, Ellie laughed a bit at him. Luckily for Zuko, and for the other two who didn't want to listen to non-stop complaints, they spotted land not long after. At first it was a little line on the horizon. Then, as they grew closer, they could make out overgrown buildings that stretched to the sky. All three of them let out little exclamations of surprise, and drank in the sights of the intricate stone buildings. Aang landed Appa on the outskirts of the ruins, and the teenagers disembarked.

"Even though these buildings are centuries old, there's something eerily familiar about them," Zuko muttered, looking around as they walked deeper into the ruins. "I can tell the Fire Sages' temples are somehow descended from these."

"Okay, we learned something about architecture," Aang nodded. "Maybe we'll learn something about firebending too. The past can be a great teache—" He broke off, letting out a shout of surprise as he began falling face forward into a chasm full of spikes that opened up at his feet. The boy quickly wind-milled, used airbending to keep himself from landing face-first in the bed of spikes, and landed on the other side.

"Guys!" the airbender exclaimed. "I think the past is trying to kill me!"

"Maybe if you'd spend less time filling the silence, and more time observing, the past wouldn't get the _chance_ to try to kill you!" Ellie scolded him angrily, her hands on her hips.

"I'm observant!" Aang protested.

" _Really_?"

"—I don't believe it," Zuko suddenly interrupted, lifting up a wire that Aang must have tripped to set off the spikes. "This booby-trap must be centuries old, and it still works."

"There's probably a lot more," Aang called to them. "Maybe this means we shouldn't be here!"

"Where's that upbeat attitude you were talking about?" Zuko called in return. "Besides, people don't make traps unless they've got something worth hiding." He turned to Ellie and made a gesture across the pit of spikes. "After you."

"Ha, ha," she said sarcastically. Then, she conjured a ball of air, sat on it like she had seen Aang do many times, and rode it on the wall to the other side. As she dropped to her feet, she turned to see Zuko running across after her. Then, she turned and looked at the pyramid-shaped mounds around them. "I think Zuko's right. A little poking around can't hurt."

OA

After a while of walking, and listening to Zuko tell them about dragon-hunting being the source of extinction, they made it to a large temple-like structure. There was a courtyard in front of it, with a circle of symbols in the center. The door was also a circle, covered in ancient writing, and sitting at the top of the door was a large red stone.

"Woaaaah, duuuuude!" Ellie exclaimed, looking at it. "Where's my camera when I need it?"

Zuko shot her an odd look, not used to the subtle difference—or not so subtle, when it came to words like "camera"—in the way that she spoke when she felt comfortable enough to do so. During this exchange, Aang ran forward and tried to open the door. When it wouldn't budge, he called out, "It's all locked up!"

Zuko scratched his head, then turned and saw another red stone in a pillar behind them. It was reflecting the sun onto a marking on the circle beneath their feet.

"Wait," the prince exclaimed. "It's a celestial calendar—like the ones the Fire Sages have in their temples. I bet that sunstone opens the door, but only when sunlight hits it at just the right angle—"

"The solstice," Ellie mused.

"Exactly," the firebender nodded.

"Monkey feathers!" Aang cried. "The solstice again? We can't wait here that long!"

"No, we can't," Zuko agreed. "But we might be able to speed time up." He crouched down in front of the spot of red light reflected onto the stones below them. The prince then pulled out a sword, and put it to the light. The sword reflected the light once more, causing it to bounce around to different locations as Zuko adjusted it.

"Come on," he muttered, tilting his sword back as he tried to move the light higher. Then, he managed to get it on the sunstone above. The red gem glowed brightly. For a second, Ellie was afraid that it wasn't going to work. But then the doors slid open with a great rumbling sound.

"You know, Zuko," Aang started, crouching to retrieve his glider, "I don't care what the others say about you. You're pretty smart." And with that, the twelve-year-old entered the temple.

Zuko smiled at the compliment, but then his face fell at the implication that the others had been talking about him. Ellie laughed and clapped him on the shoulder as she passed. "All right, big guy, come on."

Zuko followed after her into the room. The Dark Avatar stared around curiously. Occupying the room they entered into were multiple large statues depicting some form of firebending stances. They formed a circle around the outer edge of the round room. Within the circle was an intricately painted floor.

Ellie walked over to eye one of the statues. Over near the beginning of the circle, Aang was bending over, reading an inscription. "It says here that this is called 'The Dancing Dragon.'" Ellie heard an odd clicking sound, and turned to see that Aang had assumed the same stance as the statue before him—he stood on one leg with both arms extended to the side.

Aang stopped, stepping back and looking at the small slab that had descended into the floor when he had assumed the proper stance. As he stepped off of it, it rose once more, making the same clinking sound of stone against stone.

"Hey, Ellie!" he called, catching her as she glanced between him to the square slab before her. "Come over here! I want you to dance with me!"

She made a throaty growling sound in the pit of her throat, but complied nonetheless out of curiosity. She stood at the other statue of the same stance, next to Aang, and they both stepped back together, lifting one leg off the ground and holding their hands out to their sides. Over at the back of the circle, Zuko turned and watched them curiously.

Ellie made a lunging motion, her left arm going wide behind her while her right arm extended in front into a fist. As her foot connected with a hexagonal slab this time, she watched as it too descended into the ground.

"Don't you see?" Aang asked as they assumed the third stance. "These aren't dance moves. These statues are teaching us a lesson. I think this is some kind of Sun Warrior firebending form."

Over by one of the center statues, Zuko smirked, "That's some lesson you're learning there—"

"Excuse me!" Ellie, now on the sixth stance, slid past Zuko, causing him to step back.

Then, she ran forward and met Aang at the center, their fists coming together in an odd, human-made arch. Behind them, there was more rumbling. The three firebenders turned to see a platform rising out of the ground. Sitting atop it was a golden egg-shaped object.

"Hooray!" Aang cried, throwing his arms up in the air. Ellie and Zuko both looked at him. "Wait, what exactly is that?"

Running forward, Zuko looked at it closely, murmuring, "It's some kind of mystical gemstone."

"Well, don't touch it!" Aang cried as the older boy reached towards it.

"Why not?" Zuko asked.

"Remember what happened out there with the spikes? I'm just very suspicious of giant glowing gems sitting on pedestals!"

Zuko paused hesitantly, and then hefted the golden object into the air. Ellie's mouth fell open in outrage and Aang face-palmed.

"Zuko!" Ellie exclaimed. "Listen to the Avatars—this is a bad idea."

"It feels—almost alive," Zuko muttered, not paying them the least bit of attention.

"Great," Aang said shortly. "Now if you could just put it back—"

Zuko made his way to do so, but let out a cry of surprise as a green substance issued out of the pedestal, propelling him into the air. The doors shut. Aang and Ellie both turned to each other with identical shouts of, "Oh, no!" and Aang exclaimed, "It _is_ a trap!"

Ellie backed up, trying to avoid the strange green substance, glancing between the closed doors and Zuko, who was glued to an open grate in the ceiling, egg in hand. Aang backed away as well, moving out of the way of globs that flew towards him. Above them, Zuko growled, "I can't move free! It's like some sort of glue!"

"Aang, your staff!" Ellie exclaimed.

"On it!" he called, bounding over to where it lay against a statue in a few leaps. While he was doing so, Ellie hopped onto the head of a statue and attempted to waterbend the goo. Unfortunately, it did not want to yield.

"I can't bend it!" she shouted. "What's this stuff _made_ of?"

"Time for Plan B!" Aang yelled. He brought his staff down in a slice, sending out a blast of air towards Zuko. All it succeeded in doing was flipping the prince onto his stomach and ruffling his hair.

"Or Plan C," Ellie mused. "Got any ideas?"

She glanced over at Aang, to see that his staff was stuck in the green substance. Seeing the goo move closer to them, Aang and Ellie both jumped for the grate at the same time, before they could be trapped down there without air. Unfortunately, the grate hardly had enough room for three people to fit near it. Ellie was squashed between Aang and Zuko, her face pressed against the bars, while Aang was hanging down from his hands and feet.

"I can't move!" the boy cried, moving up and down as he tried to pry his hands free. "Zuko, do something!"

"Me? I can't move either!"

"Nor can I—before you ask," Ellie snapped as the airbender opened his mouth once more. Still, the glue-like substance rose, and then it reached them, pressing them into the bars. The three let out little groans as a great amount of pressure was exerted on their backs and the stuff seeped into their clothes and hair, and then it became still once more.

"It stopped," Aang noted.

"Great," Ellie muttered. "Now we're just stuck down here."

"At least we have air," Zuko reasoned. "Maybe if we stay calm, we can figure a way out of this."

OA

"You _had_ to pick up the glowing egg, didn't you?" Aang asked wearily, his fists clenched on the bars as the three of them stared up at the starry sky. It had been several hours since they had gotten stuck there—long enough to have seen the sun set completely and the sky grow entirely dark, that was for sure. Ellie was glad that she didn't have to stare up at the sun anymore. When they had first gotten trapped, it was near noon, so the sun was directly above them.

"At least I made something happen!" Zuko retorted. "If it were up to you, we would have made it past the courtyard!"

"HEEEEEEEEEEEEELLLLLLP!" Aang shouted.

" _Who_ are you yelling to?! No one's—"

"Boys, play nice," Ellie interrupted. "I'm sick of your yapping."

"Well, what do you think we should do?" the monk asked.

"I don't know," she snapped. "Think about your place in the universe or something—or, I don't know, how we're going to _starve_ down here if we don't find a way out. Just food for thought."

Both boys sighed.

"Who is down there?" a gruff voice suddenly called.

Ellie looked up to see a group of people, scantily dressed and slathered in body paint, standing before them.

"We're saved!" Aang exclaimed.

A few minutes later found them sitting outside of the temple, surrounded by more of these people—the Sun Warriors, if Ellie had to guess. A few of them had fires lit in their palms, and they all watched as two sloth anteaters licked the green goo off of the teenagers with their long tongues. The man from before, who seemed to be their chief, stepped forward.

"For trying to take our sunstone, you must be severely punished," he said in his gruff voice.

"We didn't come here to steal some sunstone," Zuko replied quickly. "We came to try to find the ancient origin of all firebending."

"Yeah, right," a tall, skinny Sun Warrior said sarcastically, stepping forward, his earrings swaying as he whipped his head about. "They are obviously thieves—here to steal Sun Warrior treasure!" He had the egg clutched to his chest as he spoke.

"Please," Aang pleaded, getting to his feet. "I don't normally play this card, but I'm the Avatar." His smile fell at their stone cold, unresponsive faces. "At least hear us out."

Ellie scrambled to get on her feet as well, and Zuko soon joined them, stating, "My name is Zuko—Crown Prince of the Fire Nation, and heir to the throne—o-or, at least, I used to be. I know my people have distorted the ways of firebending to be fueled by anger and rage, but now I want to learn the true way—the original way. When we came here, I never imagined that the Sun Warrior civilization was secretly alive. I'm honored to be in your presence."

He bowed respectfully, and the two Avatars scrambled to do the same behind him.

"Please, teach us."

"If you wish to learn the ways of the sun, you must learn them from the masters, Ran and Cha."

"Ran and Cha?" Ellie repeated thoughtfully.

"There are two of them?" Aang asked.

"When you present yourselves to them," the man continued as if uninterrupted, "they will examine you. They'll read your hearts, your souls—" Ellie cringed, placing a hand over her heart as she thought about the spirit that was latched onto her own soul—"and your ancestry." Now it was Zuko's turn to cringe, thinking that it was his ancestors that had raged war on the world for a hundred years. "If they deem you worthy, they'll teach you. If they don't, you'll be destroyed on the spot." And with that, he turned and began walking away from them. Aang, Ellie, and Zuko exchanged worried glances.

OA

At the top of a tall, step-pyramid temple, the three firebenders listened to the Sun Chief's instructions. As they did so, Ellie couldn't help but look out at the vast expanse of ancient Sun Warrior architecture. Now that she knew the civilization was still alive, she wondered how she hadn't questioned how the buildings had been in such pristine condition before. Now, it was evident that the current Sun Warriors must keep the buildings in a relatively good condition. Silently, she mused how it would be nice to even have a disposable camera…but who would develop her pictures? Hmmm…maybe she needed one of those polaroid cameras…

She turned back to the chief, who was currently saying, "—If you are going to learn from the masters, you must bring them a piece of the eternal flame." He gestured to an enormous tear-drop fireplace before them. "This fire is the very first one. It was given to man by the dragons. We have kept it going for thousands of years."

"I don't believe it," Zuko whispered reverently beside the blonde girl. She couldn't hold back a smile, and glanced up at the boy, watching the flames flicker in his eyes.

"You will each take a piece of it to the masters, to show your commitment to the sacred art of firebending," the gruff man continued.

"Uh, Mr. Chief, sir," Aang interrupted, rubbing the back of his bald head nervously. "I'm not a firebender yet. Couldn't one of my friends carry my flame for me?"

"No!" the man snapped, as though suggesting such a thing was sacrilegious. He turned to the flames crackling behind him, drawing a flame out and letting it rest in his palms. "This ritual illustrates the Sun Warrior philosophy. You must maintain a constant heat. The flame will go out if you make it too small. Make it too big, and you might lose control." As he spoke, he divided the flames in his palms into two. He sent one flame towards Ellie and Zuko, and it divided as it went. As the two caught their flames, the chief held out the third to Aang.

"I'm sorry," he said slowly, hesitantly reaching out. "I'm just a little nervous."

His shoulders were tense, and he seemed to shrink slightly as the fire was transferred to his own palm. It was as though he expected the small flame to explode and injure them all. But as the flame dwindled slightly in his palms, Aang smiled, "It's like a little heartbeat."

"Fire is life, not just destruction," the man replied with his own smile. Then, he turned and pointed to a mountain to their left. "You will take your flames up there. The cave of the masters is beneath that rock."

So the three set out, each with their hands held in front of them as their carried their flames. Ellie's and Zuko's were relatively large, but Aang's flames seemed tiny in comparison. He lagged behind, moving slowly and shielding his flames with one hand. Once they were nearly to the top, Zuko turned to him. "Hurry up," he said.

"I can't!" Aang replied. "If I walk too fast, my flame will go out."

"You're flame will go out because it's too small," the older boy responded. "You're too timid. Give it more juice."

"But what if I can't control it?" Aang asked.

"You can," Ellie replied. "Believe me, you can. You've had enough discipline learning the other elements to be able to control a little flame." Aang nodded, and hastened to catch up to them.

From the time they left the temple, it took until well-past noon to make it to the top of the mountain. There, they climbed beneath a rock to find a flat, hollow place. It was like a dried-up volcano bed. Surrounding the area were Sun Warriors. Beyond them was a giant staircase that led up to a thin platform. It ran along the length of the mountaintop, disappearing into two caves, which were located on opposite crater walls.

"Facing the judge of the firebending masters will be very dangerous for you," the chief said, walking towards them. Ellie, who felt she had no place to argue, watched as he looked to Zuko. "Your ancestors were directly responsible for the dragons' disappearance. The masters might not be so happy to see you."

"I know I wouldn't be," the same gangly warrior from earlier commented.

"But once they find out I'm the Avatar—" Aang started.

"Have you forgotten that you vanished, allowing the Fire Nation to wreak havoc on the world? The decline of the dragons is your burden too!"

He barely gave a moment to allow his words to sink in before slamming his staff into the ground and spreading his arms wide, his palms facing the sky. As he brought his hands away from his body, flames from Zuko and Aang's palms followed him—which were soon transferred to two more Sun Warriors. On and on it went until they all were holding rings of fire before them, while every other Sun Warrior started chanting and banging on drums.

As the chief began walking towards the vast staircase, Aang turned to the others. The three of them stuck their heads together, and Aang said softly, "We could turn back now. We've already learned more about fire than we'd hoped." As if in demonstration, Aang lifted the flame in his palms with a little smile.

"No, we see this through to the end," Zuko said.

"I agree," Ellie nodded.

"Besides, even if they attack us, I think we can take these masters in a fight—whoever they are."

"You think so?" their blonde friend asked dubiously.

Zuko's hand went to his swords. "We're the Fire Prince and the Avatars."

"Point taken," Ellie smirked, turning back to the chief. The two boys in front of her did the same. She gave them a little shove to get them moving forward. "Now you two go on up."

"What?" both boys squawked, turning back to her. "You're not coming with us?"

"I don't need to," Ellie replied. "I already understand, thank you. I've seen the episode plenty of times."

They both stared at her, and Ellie's eyes widened as she realized what she had just said. She never really thought about her knowledge of the TV series much before the past few weeks, and even then she didn't think about why she could remember some things, but not others.

Back in the yesteryears when the blonde girl was ten, she had convinced her parents to buy her season three of _Avatar: the Last Airbender_. She had already seen seasons one and two at a friend's house, so she needed season three to complete her repertoire. Then, she watched, and re-watched, and re-watched _again_ season three until Christmas, when she received the other two seasons as well. Some episodes she skipped over, like the one with Hama. Some—like the Boiling Rock, the finale, and the Firebending Masters, she watched multiple times in a week.

When Ellie was first dumped in the past, she had already gone three years without watching the show—enough to forget most specific lines. A few months later, she had progressed to forgetting entire episodes. But when she landed, the thing she had focused the most on was the fact that Zuko turned good—therefore, she remembered everything that had to do with Zuko turning good. Somehow, it hadn't happened the same this time around.

Was she changing time?

Presumably she was—since she wasn't in the show, people around her would have made different choices. Fights would have gone differently. But exactly how much of an impact was she having? Would the future be the same— _her_ _own time_ be the same now that she had traveled to the past? And why was she sent back? Who did it? The girl had never thought to question that before. She assumed it was a spirit that did it. But why? Why her? Because she was an Avatar?

Perhaps Ellie would never know.

OA

"I didn't know you could draw." Ellie turned around to see Zuko standing behind her. As he moved to stand closer, she looked back at the sketching she had been doing of the fountain at the Western Air Temple.

"There's a lot of things about me you don't know," she said quietly. Then, she looked back at him. "So are you satisfied with your little adventure?"

"No, I think I need to go on more adventures with others in the group," he said solemnly. At her raised eyebrows he laughed. "Yeah, you saw straight through me, didn't you? Well—I'm satisfied, yes."

She hummed affirmably, and began shading in below the fountain. She had found some actual pieces of paper in Appa's saddle—mostly old maps that they didn't use any more and wanted posters—and had fashioned a pencil out of a small stick that she had charred, creating a charcoal tip. Then Ellie decided to rectify her problem with capturing images. The girl hadn't drawn in her entire time in the past, having neither the time or the need to do so. But something about drawing things she wanted to remember helped her feel as though she was back at home—as though she could just whip up pictures and remember places and events.

"If you don't mind me asking," Zuko finally said, interrupted the silence as he sat beside her. "Why start drawing now?"

"You wouldn't understand," she said, giving the fountain a shadow. Then, she looked at her depiction of the water, looked back at her charcoal stick, and sighed. "Where's an eraser when you need one?"

"Maybe you could help me understand," Zuko reasoned, "by starting with the word 'eraser.'"

"It's a thing you use to erase—" she broke off, realizing that if he didn't know what an eraser was, he wouldn't understand the term "erase" either. "You use it to make parts of the picture go away."

"Why would you want to do that?" he asked. "It looks good to me."

"Highlights," she replied. "See how the light reflects off the water?" She turned and glanced at him, letting her hand fall from when she had been pointing to the fountain as she realized he wasn't looking at the fountain at all. She smiled. "Sorry, I'm going into artist mode."

"I like knowing more about you," he smiled. "Since you seem to know a lot about me, anyway."

"Only because of my being from the future."

"I know," the prince replied. "I think you mentioned the word 'episode' earlier today—another one I don't know."

And Ellie had to stop and think how she was going to explain episodes when she was speaking to a teenager who didn't know what shows like _Avatar: the Last Airbender_ , television sets, or even electricity was.

* * *

 **~LittleMissMycroft**


	42. Part 3: Adjustments

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: the Last Airbender.**

 **I realize I've been posting a whole lot of fluffy stuff with Ellie and Zuko. I originally planned to have them have a fight, but I guess I never got around to it. Now, this chapter's going to be skipping over a good deal of stuff. It's basically here to cover the things that need to be covered before Sozin's Comet happens. Read and enjoy! Sozin's Comet will be up next.**

* * *

 **Chapter Twelve: Adjustments**

"No one can make tea like Uncle, but hopefully I learned a thing or two," Zuko said as he poured tea into everyone's cups. Ellie smiled as she remembered that Zuko _had_ spent nearly a month working in a teashop in Ba Sing Se. "Would you like to hear Uncle's favorite tea joke?"

Everyone replied with different variations of "Sure!" or "Okay," and Ellie smiled, "I'm down."

"Okay, well, I don't remember how it starts, but the punch line is 'Leaf me alone! I'm bushed!'" Everyone stared at the Fire Nation prince, wondering how on earth that his joke was supposed to be funny. "…Well, it was funnier when Uncle told it…"

"Right," Katara grinned. "Maybe that's because he could remember the whole thing."

The others laughed, to which Zuko smiled—content that he was a part of their group at all. They fell into a comfortable silence, filled only by the sounds of their crackling fire. After a moment, Toph said with a smile, "It's nice to get the chance to relax a little. It hardly ever happens."

Zuko moved to give Sokka, who was sitting outside the group, his cup of tea. As the Fire Nation boy came to a stop, Sokka asked, "Hey, can I talk to you about something?"

The others watched as the two walked out of earshot, Zuko asking, "What's up?"

There was silence around the campfire once more, and the teenagers turned to one another.

"What's the matter with Sokka?" Toph asked.

"I think he's still feeling guilty about the invasion," Aang muttered.

The others nodded, fully understanding.

OA

The next morning, the others slowly rose as the sun began shining down on them. Aang was still sleeping. The Duke fed Appa a bale of hay, Katara set to making breakfast, and Toph and Haru both made their way over to Ellie to talk to her about potentially practicing earthbending that day. Not even a few words passed before Katara walked over to them, asking, "Hey, has anyone seen Sokka today?" They all shook their heads.

Curiously, she walked towards Appa. Beside them, Aang sat up and began rubbing his eyes with a yawn. As Katara stooped to pull something away from a still snoozing Momo, the others watched curiously. Toph, Aang, and Ellie made their way over, peering over Katara's shoulder, or, in Toph's case, asking, "What does it say?"

"'Need meat. Gone fishing. Be back in a few days," she read slowly, trying to decipher her brother's terrible handwriting. "Sokka and Zuko.'" Aang yawned again, and stretched, walking back over to lay down again. "One more thing. 'Aang, practice your firebending while I'm gone. Do twenty sets of fire fists, and ten hot squats every time you hear a badger frog croak. Zuko.'"

There was a second of silence, in which the airbender closed his eyes contentedly. Then, the silence was interrupted by a distant croak. Aang's eyes opened, and he got to his feet with a sigh.

"Nobody else has homework," he groaned.

"I beg to differ," Ellie laughed, turning back to Toph and Haru, who had just been about to take her to train some more.

Aang groaned nonetheless, and went over to an empty space in the courtyard to do his training, saying grudgingly, "One hot-squat…two hot-squats…three hot-squats…four hot-squats…"

Ellie did indeed spend the entire day training. Half of it was with Toph and Haru, practicing earthbending and having a sparring match. The other half, Katara and Ellie flew to the waterfall at the end of the ravine and practiced their waterbending some. Ellie had already come a long way with waterbending—dare she say, she even mastered it. Earthbending the blonde was a little rustier at, but Toph declared that she should have it mastered by the end of the year at the latest. Air, Ellie wasn't quite so sure about. She didn't really practice it all that much with Aang, because usually when they sparred, they ended up biting each other's heads off. Still, she believed she had made quite some progress since she had unlocked it, back in Omashu.

Two days later, once night had fallen, a distant humming sound could be heard. It wasn't long before a giant shape came into view. It was one of the Fire Nation's new airships. Katara, Aang, Toph, Haru, Ellie, and the Duke all prepared for battle. Who on earth could be in the airship? Did someone find Sokka and Zuko and get the team's whereabouts from them?

The ship landed at their courtyard, and the six teenagers stood ready. Then, a gangplank dropped down, and someone emerged from within. It was Zuko, followed closely by Sokka. The others all dropped from their defensive stances and gaped.

"What are you doing in that thing?" Katara asked, voicing what everyone was wondering. "And what happened to the war balloon?"

"It kinda got destroyed," Zuko replied.

"Sounds like a crazy fishing trip," Aang laughed.

"Did you at least get some good meat?" Toph asked.

"Yes, we did," the Water Tribe boy replied. "We got the best meat of all. The meat of fatherhood, and friendship."

"Are you serious?" Ellie deadpanned. "Don't you realize how cheesy you sound?"

But either the teenager didn't realize, or he didn't care. He was grinning happily, and they all turned to see three more people come out of the airship. The first was Hakoda, Sokka and Katara's dad. Behind him were Suki and a really tall, buff man.

"Hi everybody," the man grinned and waved. "I'm new."

"Dad," Katara grinned, her eyes tearing up.

"Hi Katara," her father replied softly, holding his arms out to her as she ran forward into a hug.

"How are you here?" she asked happily. "What is going on? Where did you go?"

"We kinda went to a Fire Nation prison," Sokka replied, rubbing the back of his neck. He looked as though he was afraid of being shouted at, but his sister only grabbed him and pulled him into a three-way family hug.

"Seriously," Toph interrupted. "You guys didn't find any meat?"

OA

Ellie was awoken to loud bangs. The ground shook beneath her as she threw off her tattered blanket, and leapt to her feet. She had been in a circle of sleeping people, who were all now waking up. Aang, meanwhile, was running to the front of the courtyard (where it opened up to the chasm beyond), his staff in hand. A few seconds later, they could see airships rising into view.

Aang ran back towards them, tugging on Appa's reigns, and made a slashing motion with his staff. Sliding metal grates, which were positioned on a track all around the courtyard, slid to form a wall around them. However, the ceiling above continued to crack and crumble. A few pieces fell onto the ground below—some into the fountain, and some near the people standing below. One almost crushed Katara, but in the nick of time Zuko shoved her over, crying, "Watch out!"

They all canvassed the area, looking for a way out that avoided open fire, but found none. Then, Haru and Toph turned to the back wall. Together, they opened a tunnel within it. Toph turned back to them and shouted, "Come on! We can get out through here!" All of them began running for the tunnel. Aang, meanwhile was attempting to pull Appa towards the whole. Unfortunately, the bison did not want to budge. While the twelve-year-old was pulling on the reigns, grunting and groaning, he caught sight of Zuko moving in the opposite direction as the others.

"Zuko!" he shouted. "What are you doing?"

All the older boy replied with was, "Go ahead, I'll hold them off… I think this is a family visit."

Ellie ran towards him, exclaiming, "I'm not going to let you fight your crazy sister by yourself."

"No," Zuko shouted in return. "Don't worry, I've got this handled." Ellie glanced between Zuko and Appa, who still wasn't moving. "Go help them."

Ellie growled, but did as he said, running back to the others. There, Sokka, Aang, and Katara were all pulling on the reigns together. Ellie grabbed a portion and moved to do the same. As they were all trying to move Appa, Aang cried, "There's no way we're going to get him in there! Appa _hates_ tunnels."

"There's no way we can fly out of here," Katara argued.

"We'll have to find a way," Aang responded.

"We need to split up," Ellie muttered, releasing her grip on the reigns.

"I agree," Sokka nodded firmly. Quickly, he ran over to the others and ordered them, "Take the tunnel and get to the stolen airship."

"No!" Katara ran over to her father, grabbing his arm. "The Fire Nation can't separate our family again!"

"It'll be okay," Hakoda replied. "It's not forever."

Katara hesitated, hugged her father, and ran back over to where Aang and Ellie stood beside Appa. Sokka, meanwhile, grabbed Suki's hand and dragged her with him as he joined them. The four of them got in the saddle while Aang hopped onto Appa's head. Toph, in front of Appa, placed her hand on a pile of rubble.

"I can clear that away, and we can go through there," she told them.

"There seems to be a lot of fire coming from that direction," Suki said slowly as Toph propelled herself onto the bison's back.

"We can make it," Ellie assured her.

"Let's go," Aang said, whipping down Appa's reigns. Seconds later, they were bursting through the rubble and sailing over the nearest airship. Ellie peered over the side of the saddle, and glanced down at the top of the airship below. There, she caught eyes with Azula. Then, she saw as the princess turned and faced her brother, who was riding atop another ship.

Zuko ran across the length of his ride, and jumped onto the one his sister was on.. As he flew through the air, she met him with an electric blue blast of fire. Quickly, he blocked it with his own orange flames. Then, he landed and shot another stream at her. The princess dodged it, kicked through a second blast, and sent out a whip. Her brother divided it in half and shot again.

By that time, fire began raining down on Appa. Katara stood in the saddle, absorbing blasts with a shield of water. Aang flew the bison, trying to get nearer to Zuko without getting too close to the firing troops. Ellie stood on Appa's tail, deflecting blasts that came her way, and occasionally sending streams towards the ships. Aang yanked on the reigns, and they soared straight up and over the ships once more.

"We need to get to Zuko!" Ellie shouted.

"I know!" her counterpart returned.

"Then where are you going?" she shrieked over the roaring winds as Appa plummeted into the mist below.

"Just trust me!" came Aang's voice. He began to bring the bison back up once more, and came sweeping towards the ship on which Zuko and his sister fought. They saw the boy fall off the ship, and Aang whipped underneath him. Just before he could fall past them, Sokka grabbed his arm and yanked him down. Zuko quickly turned, and the others did the same. Behind them, they could see Azula spinning through the air, out of control.

"She's not going to make it," Zuko said softly, his voice laced with regret and—dare she say?—hope. Then, there was a flash of blue and Azula shot towards the canyon wall, ripping her comb out of her hair and digging it into the earth to slow her decent. There she stopped, smiling in a disturbing, twisted sort of way.

"Of course she did," her brother grunted, turning back.

And with that, they flew out of sight.

OA

"Wow, camping," Aang laughed. "It's just like old times, isn't it?"

"If you really want it to feel like old times," Zuko commented, breaking a bit of his bread off to eat, "I could chase you around a while—try to capture you."

They all laughed, and Ellie, who sat contentedly between Zuko and Aang, glanced around the clearing. Instantly, she noticed that Katara wasn't joining in on their mirth. Instead, she was looking down at something in her hands.

"To Zuko," Sokka said, raising his cup with a slosh. "Who knew after all those times he tried to snuff us out, he'd be our hero?"

"Hear, hear!" the rest cried.

"I'm touched," the prince said softly. "I don't deserve this."

Still, Katara said nothing. Instead, she got to her feet and wandered away from the firelight.

"What's with her?" Sokka asked worriedly.

"I wish I knew," Zuko muttered, standing to follow after her.

"What's with him?" Sokka asked lightly this time, watching as he disappeared into the gloom.

Aang and Ellie both shared a glance and shrugged.

OA

Aang was feeding Appa. Sokka sat by a rock, fiddling with something. Ellie was up on Appa's saddle, pulling thread out to repair a hole in her shoe with. Suddenly, Katara walked up. Zuko was trailing behind her, a bag slung over his shoulder.

"I need to borrow Appa," she demanded. At these words, Ellie poked her head above the saddle. Then, she grabbed the needed supplies and hopped down, using a pocket of air to cushion the ground as her feet touched down.

"What, is it your turn to take a little field trip with Zuko?" he joked.

"Yes, it is," came the curt response. At her serious tone, Aang's smile fell.

"Oh," he said quietly. "What's going on?"

"We're going to find the man who took my mother from me," Katara replied in a strong voice.

Concerned, Sokka's mouth dropped open. Quickly, he shut it and got to his feet, wandering over to listen as Zuko said, "Sokka told me the story about what happened. I know who did it, and I know how to find him."

"Um, and what is this supposed to accomplish?" the twelve-year-old probed. Katara scoffed.

"I knew you wouldn't understand."

"I do understand!" Aang shot back. "You're feeling unbelievable pain and rage. How do you think I felt about the sandbenders when they stole Appa? How do you think I felt about the _Fire Nation_ when I learned about my people?"

"She need this, Aang," Zuko told him. "This is about getting closure and justice."

Aang shook his head, "I don't think it is. I think it's about getting revenge."

"Fine," the waterbender snapped. "Maybe it is. Maybe that's what I need." Then, she added in a low growl, "Maybe that's what _he_ deserves."

"Katara, you sound like Jet," Aang said quietly.

"This is different! Jet killed innocent people. This man—he's a _monster_."

"Katara, she was my mother too," Sokka interrupted, "but I think Aang is right."

"Then you didn't love her as much as I did!"

"Katara!" Sokka exclaimed, sounding genuinely hurt.

There was a brief silence, in which Katara turned away roughly, looking down at the ground. Then, Aang said, "The monks used to say that revenge was like a two-headed rat viper. While you watch you enemy go down, you're being poisoned yourself."

"That's cute, but this isn't Air Temple preschool," Zuko snapped. "This is the real world."

"Now that I know he's out there, that we can find him, I feel like I have no choice," Katara muttered darkly.

"Katara," Aang dissented. "You do have a choice. Forgiveness."

"That's the same thing as doing nothing!" Zuko exclaimed.

"No," the monk shook his head. "It's easy to do nothing. It's hard to forgive."

OA

That night, Ellie couldn't fall asleep. Aang's words kept circling in her head. Forgiveness and pacifism was something that was forced into her head from an early age. Her parents always supported the route that involved "turning the other cheek," and when she was eight she was forced into therapy, which erred on the side of avoiding fights at any cost.

Ellie rolled from her side to her back, staring up at the stars overhead.

Perhaps it was because she was always a volatile child, but she had never understood forgiveness and pacifism. She had always struck up a fight. If insulted, she shouted at the offender. If attacked, she fought back with her fists and nails. If provoked, Ellie could invoke instant terror. Then, she had someone sit her down and tell her that fighting wasn't the answer. That fighting was childish, and made her look bad.

Now, Ellie was in an environment where she had to fight for her life. Somehow, it made her feel…more secure. As though a part of her was content with living on the run and fighting a bunch of people. Ellie knew she shouldn't be that way, but didn't know how to change. How could she make herself understand what it meant to forgive? _Why_ should she forgive?

" _The monks used to say that revenge was like a two-headed rat viper. While you watch you enemy go down, you're being poisoned yourself…"_

Ellie had heard growing up that anger only hurt herself. When she was angry at someone, they wouldn't even know (unless she punched them in the face, she always responded), but _she_ would know she was angry. Her counselor had once told her that when she was angry, it released a chemical in her brain—a _damaging_ chemical. The blonde had no idea if that was true, or if it was stories fed to an angry child.

But what if it was right?

Ellie didn't like hurting good people, but she always saw offenses as a reason to fight. Did that make her a good or bad person? What defined a good person?

The girl let out a small sigh, and rolled over again.

OA

Ellie looked up to see that Appa was in the middle of their campsite once more—Zuko and Katara must have returned. She made her way over to find Zuko sliding down to the ground. Aang was already standing there, looking up at the firebender.

"Where Katara?" he asked.

"Ember Island," Zuko replied softly. "She's at my family's summer house—I think she needed some alone time."

"What happened?" Sokka queried.

Zuko shook his head, "Nothing. We found the man, and when the time came, she did… _nothing_."

"She forgave him?" Ellie asked incredulously.

Zuko shrugged.

"She didn't kill him," he responded.

"So what now?" Suki asked, walking up to them. Toph followed.

"I guess we're going to Ember Island," Aang said after a moment. "Come on, let's pack up."

OA

As Appa landed on the beaches of Ember Island, the sun setting behind them, they looked down to see Katara sitting on the dock. She was idly swinging her legs back and forth, her toes barely skimming the water. Aang jumped down from the bison and ran over towards the waterbender, Zuko and Ellie following behind.

"Katara!" Aang exclaimed. "Are you okay?"

"I'm doing fine," she said in a soft voice.

"Zuko told me what you did," Aang told her. "Or...what you didn't do, I guess. I'm proud of you."

"I wanted to do it. I wanted to take out all of my anger at him, but I couldn't." Katara still hadn't turned back to them, and was staring out at the water. "I don't know if it's because I was too weak to do it, or if it's because I'm strong enough not to."

"You did the right thing," Aang assured her. "Forgiveness is the first step you have to take to begin healing."

"But I didn't forgive him," she muttered, getting to her feet. "I don't think I ever will."

And with that, she walked back towards where the others were.

"You were right about what Katara needed," Zuko told Aang once she was gone. "Violence wasn't the answer."

"It never is," the Avatar smiled.

"Then I have a question for you," Zuko asked. "What are you going to do once you face my father?"

Aang's eyes widened, and he glanced over at Ellie. Their eyes caught, and she wondered how on earth he could worry about fighting a guy like Ozai. Aang's face quickly filled with hesitancy and regret. Ellie broke the eye contact abruptly, and her own face reflected a sudden determination and anger—her eyes were narrowed and her nose scrunched up.

If Aang wouldn't kill Ozai, she would. It was the only way.

* * *

 **~LittleMissMycroft**


	43. Part 3: Sozin's Comet Part 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: the Last Airbender**

* * *

 **Chapter Thirteen: Revelations**

Ellie listened vaguely as Zuko snapped instructions to Aang. Ellie knew that the others weren't planning on fighting Ozai until after the comet came—and she and Aang had _actually_ mastered the four elements. Both of them still needed to work on their earthbending, and Aang _definitely_ needed to work on his firebending. At the same time, she also _knew_ that they were going to have to fight on the day of the comet whether they wanted to or not. Unfortunately, everyone seemed to content to lounge around Zuko's summer home. In fact, as Zuko was training Aang, Ellie was the only other person standing. Everyone else was lying on the stairs. She turned to Toph.

"So?" the blonde girl asked.

"So what?" came the response.

"Train me on earthbending?"

"What for?" Toph asked. "Can't we take a break for today?"

"I know you don't want us to fight Ozai on the day of the comet," Ellie started, "but that doesn't mean that I don't need training still."

Toph opened her mouth, but was cut off as Katara came out to where they were, calling, "Who wants a nice, fresh glass of watermelon juice?"

"Me, me!" Aang squealed as the others lifted their hands for a glass as well. As Katara was handing them little hollowed out watermelons with straws and little umbrellas, Aang tried to run forward. Zuko grabbed him by his robe.

"Hey, your lesson's not over yet!" Zuko snapped. "Get back here!"

And he lifted his arm up, dragging Aang back towards him and lifting him into the air.

"Come on, Zuko," Suki said. "Just take a break! What's the big deal?"

"Fine," the firebender muttered, dropping Aang, who rushed to grab a glass of juice. "If you want to lounge around like a bunch of lazy snail sloths all day, then go ahead!"

And he stormed off.

"Maybe Zuko's right," Sokka muttered. "Sitting around the house has made us pretty lazy. But I know just the thing to fix that." He ripped off his blue robe, revealing his swimming clothes, and cried, "Beach party!"

They all ran down to the beach, Ellie following in exasperation. Sokka dove into the ocean. Ellie whined, "But what about training?"

"Work on your sandbending!" Toph cried.

"I've got a better idea," Katara grinned, grabbing her wrist and dragging her into the water.

Ellie squealed and shrieked as Katara splashed her.

"That's it!" she shouted, and joined in the splashing with a grin. The fight ended with the both of them getting knocked off of their feet by a big wave.

Then, Katara exclaimed, "Watch this!" She jumped up, and when her feet came back down the water underneath them formed into a surfing board of sorts.

Ellie watched dubiously. Then, a giant fish flew out of the water and smacked her in the chest, knocking her over.

"Ha, ha!" Sokka laughed. "Fish beats Avatar!"

Ellie wanted to make a remark about the time Sokka tried to catch a fish in her favorite episode of season one, "The Fortuneteller," but decided against it as the fish began squirming to get away. As it did so, Ellie formed her own iceboard, and harnessed the fish with two streams of water. As it began dragging her, she whooped with victory. As he bounced over the waves, she yelled, "Beat that!"

Then as the two girls turned back to the beach, they saw that Aang and Zuko had disappeared, and Suki and Toph were standing over Sokka, who was attempting to salvage a sand sculpture.

"What happened?" Katara asked, coming to a halt as her board melted. Ellie did the same.

"Zuko went crazy!" Sokka shouted. "I made a sand sculpture of Suki and he completely destroyed it!" He paused in his patting and added, "Oh, and he's attacking Aang."

" _What_?" Katara shrieked, running off in search of the two boys.

The others bolted after her and as they ran, Ellie panted, "I'm sure there's a reasonable explanation for this."

"When is there ever a reasonable explanation for an unprovoked attack on anyone?" Katara asked.

"She does have a point," Sokka muttered.

In the distance, they could see spurts of flames coming from on top of the house. They all ran back to the house as quick as they could. When they finally reached it, there was a crash overhead and Zuko came flying through a fresh hole in the wall. He crashed through the trees and landed on the ground with a groan. As he pushed himself to his feet, Katara exclaimed, "What is wrong with you? You could have hurt Aang!"

"What's wrong with _me_?" he retorted. "What's wrong with all of you—having beach parties when Sozin's Comet is only a few days away?!" No one responded. Instead, they all gazed at him with mixed looks of surprise and guilt. "Why are you all looking at me like I'm crazy?"

"About Sozin's Comet…" Aang trailed off. "I was actually gonna wait to fight the Fire Lord until after it came."

" _After_?"

"We're not ready," the Avatar replied. "I need more time to master firebending, as I am sure Ellie needs more time to work on her earthbending."

" _You_ could stand a little to work on your earthbending as well," Toph muttered to the boy.

"So, you all knew Aang was going to wait?" Zuko questioned.

"Honestly, if they try to fight the Fire Lord now, they're gonna lose," Sokka reasoned. He glanced from Aang, who was frowning down at the ground, to Ellie, who had her eyes narrowed at him. The teen raised his hands apologetically into the air. "No offense."

"The whole point of fighting the Fire Lord _before_ the comet comes was to prevent him from winning the war," Katara added. "And he pretty much won the war when they took Ba Sing Se." She looked down and sighed dejectedly, "Things can't get any worse."

Zuko turned away from them, his heart sinking as he listened to their explanations. Looking down at the ground, he muttered, "You're wrong. Things are about to get worse than you can even imagine."

He glanced up to see their questioning looks, and continued, "The day before the eclipse, my father asked me to attend an important war meeting. It was what I dreamed about for so many years. My father had finally accepted me back.

"It was going like any other war meeting—General Shinu was giving reports about earthbender rebellions, and how we—the _Fire Nation_ —needed to concentrate its troops more in the Earth Kingdom. Then, he asked _me_ what _I_ thought. I was afraid to mess it up, but I didn't want to be untruthful, so I decided on saying that the Earth Kingdom people are strong and full of hope."

He laughed mirthlessly. "Of course, he found some way to twist it to his liking. So my father decided that he was going to destroy the Earth Kingdom's hope…and Azula suggested burning everything to the ground. My father quickly seized this idea and built a plan on it—one that will center on the comet and make him supreme ruler over everything.

"I wanted to speak out against this horrifying plan, but I'm ashamed to say I didn't. My whole life, I struggled to gain my father's love and acceptance, but once I had it, I realized I had lost myself getting there. I'd forgotten who I was."

Finally, he looked up to see the devastated faces of his friends. Sokka and Suki were standing together, looking solemn. Aang was looking down at the ground, his face an emotionless mask. Ellie, on the other hand, was squinting down at the ground, pure anger written all over her face. Katara had sunk weakly to her knees out of horror.

"I can't believe this," she choked.

"I always knew the Fire Lord was a bad guy, but his plan is just pure evil," Sokka said in a soft voice.

"What am I gonna do?" Aang asked, his voice and face reflecting how utterly lost and forlorn he felt.

"I know you're scared, and I know you're not ready to save the world," Zuko said, "but if you don't defeat him before the comet comes, there won't be a world to save anymore."

"Why didn't you tell me about your dad's crazy plan sooner?" Aang all but shouted.

"I didn't think I had to," Zuko retorted. "I assumed you were still going to fight him before the comet! No one told me you decided to wait!"

Now it was Aang's turn to sink to his knees as he had a mini panic attack, his hands reached up to clutch at the sides of his bare head, as he moaned, "This is bad…this is really, really bad."

"Aang, you two don't have to do this alone," Katara assured him softly.

"Yeah, if we _all_ fight the Fire Lord together, we might have a shot at taking him down," Toph nodded.

"All right!" Sokka exclaimed excitedly. "Team Avatar is back! Air, water, earth, fire, fan, and sword!"

"Fighting the Fire Lord is going to be the hardest thing we've ever done together, but I wouldn't want it any other way," Aang smiled.

Happily, they all moved to hug each other. Noticing that Zuko was still standing outside the group, Ellie waved him over. The prince hesitantly stayed put. "Come on, Zuko," Katara called. "You're part of Team Avatar now—that means you're also a part of group hugs." With a resigned look, Zuko joined the hug.

OA

"There's one technique you need to know before facing my father," Zuko told Aang later as the others watched the two train. "How to redirect lightning. If you let the energy in your own body flow, the lightning will follow it." Using his fingers, he traced the path that Iroh had taught to Ellie all those months ago. "You turn your opponents' energy against them."

"That's like waterbending," Aang noted happily.

"Exactly," the older boy replied. "My uncle invented this technique himself by studying waterbenders."

"So, have you ever redirected lightning before?"

"Once," Zuko said quietly. "Against my father."

"What did it feel like?"

"Exhilarating—" Aang began to look excited—"but terrifying. You feel so powerful holding that much energy in your body, but you know if you make the wrong move, it's over."

Aang's face quickly fell, and he laughed nervously, "Well, not _over,_ over. There's always Katara and a little Spirit Water action." He turned to aforementioned girl. "Am I right?"

"Actually, I used it all up when Azula shot you," Katara deadpanned.

"Oh," the boy muttered in a quiet voice.

"You guys will just have to take the Fire Lord's life before he takes yours," Zuko told him, glancing up at Ellie.

"Yeah, I'll just do that…" Aang muttered.

OA

"Gather round, Team Avatar," Sokka said as he thrust a carved water melon on a wooden spike that had a set of robes draped on it, in imitation of a person. "In order to take out the Fire Lord—or in this case, the Melon Lord—our timing has to be perfect. First, Suki and I will draw his fire. Then, Katara and Zuko charge in with some liquidy hot offense, and while the Melon Lord is distracted, the Avatars swoop in…and bam! They deliver the final blow."

"Uh, what about me?" Toph asked.

"For now, you're the Melon Lord's forces."

"So I get to chuck flaming rocks at all of you?" Toph asked ecstatically.

"Whatever makes the training feel more realistic," Sokka nodded.

"Sweetness."

They all got into their positions—Toph stood at the top of the hill in front of the Melon Lord. Suki and Sokka were hiding behind a cluster of rocks, Katara and Zuko behind another rock, and the two Avatars were hiding together as well. They listened to Toph cackling at the top of the hill briefly, to which Ellie muttered, "Man she's really getting into this 'Melon Lord' thing, isn't she?" Aang didn't respond. Instead, he looked up to see Sokka make eye contact with him. Then, Sokka signaled to them to start moving.

He and Suki ran out, only to be confronted by stone soldiers that rose out of the ground. Sokka cut one in halt, and Suki kicked down a second. They kept running, but a large burning rock fell directly in front of Sokka's face.

"Watch it, Toph!" Sokka squawked.

"I'm not Toph!" the girl cried. "I am Melon Lord! Mwa-ha-ha-ha-ha!"

She lit a second boulder on fire and sent it sailing towards Zuko and Katara, who had begun running forward as well. They ran around the boulder and became surrounded by a circle of stone soldiers, which they set to destroying.

"Now!" Sokka shouted.

Ellie and Aang came flying at the Melon Lord from two different directions. As if in slow motion, Ellie touched down and caught eyes with Aang, who was looking at her with the same conflicted, utterly lost expression that he had displayed earlier. She saw him hesitate, and she sent out a slice of fire, which cut the melon in half. The top half slid to the ground, where it burned merrily. She raised her eyes to Aang, to see that he was cringing and backing away.

OA

"I have a surprise for everyone!"

They all looked up as Katara ran into the room.

"I knew it!" Toph exclaimed. "You _did_ have a secret thing for Haru!"

"Uh, _no,_ " Katara said, sounding a little confused. Then, she unrolled a scroll. On it was an adorable painting of a cute little baby. "Look at baby Zuko! Isn't he cute?"

Everyone laughed—everyone except for Zuko, that is.

"Oh, lighten up," Katara muttered. "I'm just teasing."

"That's not me," Zuko retorted. "It's my father."

Katara rolled up the scroll awkwardly. As Suki said quietly, "But he looks so sweet and innocent."

"Well, that sweet little kid grew up to be a monster, and the worst father in the history of fathers."

Aang, who had been sitting apart from the group, turned away from them and muttered, "But he's still a human being."

"You're going to _defend_ him?" Zuko asked incredulously.

"No, I agree with you," Aang said quickly, getting to his feet. "Fire Lord Ozai is a horrible person, and the world is probably better off without him, but there's got to be another way."

"There is no other way," Ellie interrupted. Aang met her eyes again, and they had a silent stare down—a battle of conflicting views. Aang sighed.

"This goes against everything I learned from the monks. I can't just go around wiping out people I don't like!"

"Sure you can," Sokka replied in his usual, light-hearted tone. "You're an Avatar. If it's in the name of keeping balance, I'm pretty sure the universe will forgive you."

"This isn't a joke Sokka!" Aang suddenly shouted. "None of you understand the position I'm in!"

"We do!" Katara shouted in return. "It's just—"

"Just' what, Katara? What?"

"We're trying to help!"

"Then when you figure out a way to defeat the Fire Lord without taking his life, I'd love to hear it!" and the airbender stalked off. Katara rose, prepared to go after him, but Zuko stopped her.

"Let him go," the older boy told her. "He needs time to sort this out by himself."

OA

That night, Ellie sat on the roof of the summer palace—on one of the flatter parts of the roof, which hung over a balcony—thinking. Again, Aang's words from that day echoed about Ellie's head like a broken record. As she sat there, all she could see in her mind's eye was Aang's face as she burnt the watermelon that represented the Fire Lord's head in half.

Was it really right, to kill that man? For all the evil he had done, did he really deserve to die? Was there another way? Ellie couldn't see Aang ever killing anyone in his life, but at the same time she couldn't remember how the battle had ended—just that it had ended in their favor.

Ellie was so lost and confused. It felt as though she was trying to change her whole belief system—to change the way she thought that justice should work. Back home, killers were sentenced to death (depending on the severity of the crime, anyway). Someone like Ozai, a nutcase who had no regrets in slaughtering thousands, would certainly be guaranteed the death sentence.

The girl sighed, and put her head into her hands.

Then, she heard a rustling below her. The blonde girl looked up to see Aang walking through the bushes towards the beach. Ellie noted how odd it was that he was just randomly walking away from the summer palace. He appeared as though he was sleep walking. Her gaze lifted slightly, and she saw a dark shape on the water.

"What is _that_?" she quietly asked herself.

The girl looked up again to see that Aang was still walking, now having reached the sand of the beach. Ellie quickly stood, and leapt off of the roof. Using airbending, she propelled herself as far as she could, landing just behind Aang. She rushed forward, and caught a glimpse of his unresponsive, staring eyes—he was _definitely_ sleepwalking.

"Aang!" she exclaimed, grabbing his arm. "Stop!"

Lightly, he pushed her away, pulled out of her grasp, and dove into the water. Ellie gasped. That idiot boy was going to drown himself!

"Aang!" she cried, louder this time. She rushed into the water after him, and found that his head was still above water, but only just barely. She used waterbending to propel herself towards him, trying to catch up.

Over halfway towards the shape on the water—what appeared to be a miniature island that had appeared out of nowhere—Aang's head went beneath the water. Ellie nearly choked on the seawater, and redoubled her efforts to catch up, which she finally did once he had reached the island and was climbing out of the water. Soaking wet, she clambered onto dry ground and watched as he dropped down to the ground, snoring. Panting heavily, Ellie dropped down beside him, and fell asleep instantly.

OA

"Where are we?"

Ellie woke up with a shriek as she realized Aang was bending over her.

"Did you bring us here?" he asked.

"No," she muttered grouchily, sitting up and crossing her arms. " _I_ followed _your_ crazy butt here. You were sleep walking. I thought you were going to drown yourself."

"But where is here? The Spirit World?" Aang asked.

She shook her head.

"No," Ellie replied. "Not the Spirit World. Some island. It showed up in the middle of the night." Aang got to his feet. "Don't—" Ellie cut off as Aang jumped into the trees above. "Bother…"

Seconds later, Aang returned, exclaiming, "The land is gone!"

"That's what I was trying to tell you," Ellie muttered. "Don't bother! This thing showed up in the middle of the night out of nowhere—I'd be surprised if it was still in the same place by morning. Most stories don't work that way. I once read a book where a village appeared only when it was misty—" She cut off. "That doesn't matter. We're stuck here anyway."

"The question is, what _is_ here?"

Ellie shrugged, and wished to high heavens that she had just let Aang drown—at least then she'd know where she was, and be able to make it to the Fire Nation by the time the comet came.

* * *

 **~LittleMissMycroft**


	44. Part 3: Sozin's Comet Part 2

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: the Last Airbender.**

* * *

 **Chapter Fourteen: Chaos in the Earth Kingdom**

"That's it," Sokka affirmed confidently. "We're ready to leave."

"No it isn't," Toph interrupted. "Where's Aang?"

Sokka's face went slack with shock. Quickly, they all ran up into the house to check all the rooms. As they got to the top of the stairs, they split up. "Aang?" Zuko asked as they moved. Then, he shouted, "Aang!"

"Come on, lazy bones, get up!" Toph called.

Sokka and Katara ran into the room Aang had been staying in and found that the door to the balcony was open. The teenagers rushed forward. Momo was still curled up, asleep on the ground, with incense burning in front of him. Over to the side lay Aang's staff.

"He left his staff," Sokka said, picking up the object. "That's so strange."

"Aang's not in the house," Zuko said, walking up to them. "Let's check the beach."

They went back out and around the house. Once they made it to the beach, Sokka cried out, "Look!" He pointed to the ground, where footprints led to the water. He stopped at the waterline. "The trail ends here."

"So he went for a midnight swim and never came back?" Suki asked in a small voice.

"Maybe he was captured," Katara added worriedly.

"I don't think so," Sokka disagreed. "There's no sign of a struggle."

"There's another set of footprints, though," Katara mused.

"Wait, have any of you noticed that Ellie is missing, too?" Zuko interrupted.

"They _both_ went for a midnight swim and never came back?" Toph suggested incredulously.

"No, isn't it obvious?" Sokka asked. "Avatars disappearing before a big battle? It's obvious they went on a Spirit World journey!"

"But if they were in the Spirit World, wouldn't their bodies still be here?" Zuko argued.

"Oh yeah," Sokka murmured, deflating. "Forgot about that."

"Let's search the island," Katara suggested. "They must be here somewhere."

OA

When it became evident that the two Avatars were _not_ on the island, they all reluctantly climbed on Appa, and Zuko took up the reigns. They began flying east. The others all shared curious looks in the saddle, wondering why they were going away from the Fire Nation. Sokka moved to the front of the saddle and said, "Zuko, I don't want to tell you how to do your job, but why are we heading towards the Earth Kingdom? There's no way Aang's there."

"Just trust me."

They touched down on the edge of the Earth Kingdom after night had fallen. Zuko brought them past a monastery to a small, run down building. Despite its condition, the place was very lively. It was well lit, noisy, and occasionally people would come flying through the windows. As they walked through the door, Katara asked, "And the reason you've brought us to a seedy Earth Kingdom tavern is what now?"

"June," he replied shortly, pointing to a woman who was in the middle of a wrestling match with a big buff man—which she promptly won.

"Oh, that's the lady with the giant mole!" Sokka said in remembrance.

"Mole?" Suki asked. "Her skin is flawless!"

"No, she's got this giant mole creature she rides around on," Sokka explained.

"A shirshu," Zuko clarified. "And the reason we're here."

"I don't know who this June lady is," Toph remarked, watching her kick a bunch of butts, "but I like her."

June slammed herself into a chair and began drinking a cup of steaming liquid. Still standing in the doorway, Sokka muttered, "Yeah, I remember her! She helped you attack us!"

"Yup," he replied, making his way towards June. "Back in the good old days."

"Oh, great, it's Prince Pouty," June muttered as they came to a stop beside her. "Where's your creepy grandpa?"

"He's my uncle," Zuko corrected. "And he's not here."

"Hmph," June hummed noncommittally. "Where's your girlfriend?"

"She's _not_ my girlfriend!" Zuko exclaimed. "And we're looking for her. Her and a monk—"

"Still haven't found him yet, huh?"

"It's a long story," he sighed through gritted teeth. "Now, I need your help finding the Avatar."

"Doesn't sound too fun."

"Does the end of the world sound like more fun?!" Zuko shouted.

Grudgingly, June got to her feet and waved for them to follow her. They made their way outside to find Appa and Nyla (the shirshu) eyeing each other. June called the shirshu, dangling a big piece of piece in the air. Nyla bounded forward, snatched the meat and June hugged her muzzle.

"Woah!" the woman exclaimed as a long tongue shout out. "Careful there!" Then, she turned back to the children who stood behind her. "Okay, who's got something with the Avatar's scent on it?"

"I have Aang's staff!" Katara replied, bringing the staff forward. They held it out to the shirshu, who sniffed at it for a few seconds, and then began sniffing in a circle. Then, Nyla laid down on the ground and pawed at her nose.

"What does that mean?" Sokka asked.

"It means your friend's gone."

"What…you mean, like, _dead_?" Sokka asked slowly.

"No, I mean _gone_ , gone. He doesn't exist." June replied. "You'd be able to find him if he was dead. Well, that's a real head scratcher."

"Wait!" Zuko called as she made her way to leave. "I have another smell sample!" He turned to the others. "There's only one other person in the world who can help us defeat the Fire Lord…I'll be right back."

Seconds later, he returned with a shoe. As he neared, they all plugged their noses, because the shoe smelled so terrible. There were even little flies buzzing around it.

"You saved your uncle's sweaty sandal?" Sokka asked.

"I think it's kinda sweet," Toph smiled.

Zuko brought it forward and Nyla lunged towards it, sniffing it ravenously. Then, she sniffed the air for a second and ran off.

"Hey, wait!" Zuko cried.

They all ran to get on Appa. Once on Appa, the team flew all day, and then some. Finally, they could see giant walls looming before them.

"We're going to Ba Sing Se?" Zuko asked in surprise.

As they neared it, they touched down just outside the crumbled wall. June, still atop the shirshu, said, "Your uncle's somewhere beyond the wall—Nyla's getting twitchy, so he's close. Good luck." With a little, "H'yup!" she loped off. Zuko turned to the others.

"It's been a long few days," he said. "Let's set up camp and make search again at dawn."

OA

Together, Aang and Ellie wandered towards the center of the island. When they reached it, they found that the center was not covered in dirt, nor did it have any plants growing. Instead, there was a ten square foot expanse of strange looking stone.

"It's a hexagon," Aang noted. They stepped onto it.

Ellie crouched down, rubbing the smooth surface and remarking, "It doesn't feel like regular earth."

Beside her, Aang dropped in an earthbending stance and thrust his arm into the air. When nothing happened, he said, "It's _not_ made of earth! This is so strange. I wish I had Roku." He paused, looking at Ellie, and then exclaimed, "I _do_ have Roku!"

"You're really gonna go and contact your past lives when you have a future-knower right here in front of you?" Ellie asked.

"Well can you tell me where we are?" Ellie said nothing. "Thought so. Well, you go over there and have your own existential crisis, and I'm gonna sit here and contact my past lives."

"I have past lives!" Ellie exclaimed. "Well— _a_ past life, but that's beside the point…"

Aang tuned her out, sitting down and closing his eyes.

"Fine," she muttered, walking back towards the trees. "I'll just go sit over here…by myself…"

OA

Toph cut off in mid-snore, patting the ground in surprise. She couldn't have been asleep for more than an hour or two. The girl hopped to her feet, pushing her make-shift tent into the ground from whence it came, and turned. As her feet planted on the ground, she got a good glimpse of their ambush, and it seemed to be….a bunch of old men? She heard fire whooshing, and knew that flames surrounded them.

One of the men shouted over the flames to them, "Well, look who's here!" His sentence ended with a bunch of cackles and snorts.

"What's going on?" Toph asked suddenly. "We're surrounded by old people!"

"Not just any old people," Katara told her. "These are great masters, and friends of ours! Pakku!" she bowed to a man standing close to him. He was straight-backed and thin, much thinner than the broad-chested, stooping man nearest Toph.

"It is respectful to bow to an old master," Pakku replied, bowing in return, "but how about a hug for your new grandfather?"

"That's so exciting!" Katara exclaimed. "You and Gran-Gran must be so happy to have found each other again!"

"I made her a new betrothal necklace and everything!"

"Welcome to the family Gramp-Gramps!" Sokka cried, plastering himself on Pakku.

"You may just call me Pakku," the older man replied, pushing away his step-grandson.

"How about Grand-Pakku?"

"No."

"And this was Aang's first firebending teacher," Katara said, introducing Zuko to the man who stood beside Pakku. He had wild hair that stuck out from his head in a circular shape, and a scar running down the side of his face.

"Jeong Jeong," the man introduced himself.

Sokka bowed to the third one saying, "Master Piandao."

All of them knew this one except Zuko and Suki, for they had met him during their travels through the Fire Nation before the invasion.

"So, wait," Suki interrupted. "How do you know each other?"

"All old people know each other. Didn't you know that?" the one on the end cackled. By far, he was the oldest. He was the stooped, broad-chested man. One of his eyes was significantly larger than the other. As Zuko swept his eyes back over them, he realized that they all wore blue robes with a white collar.

"We're all part of the same ancient, secret society," Piandao told them. "A group that transcends the divisions of the four nations."

"The Order of the White Lotus," Zuko finished for him, receiving a nod. Some of the other children gave him a confused look.

"That's the one!" Bumi grinned.

"The White Lotus has always been about order, and philosophy, and truth," Jeong Jeong said. "But about a month ago, a call went out that we were needed for something important."

"It came from a Grand Lotus," Pakku informed them, turning to Zuko. "Your uncle. Iroh of the Fire Nation."

"Well, that's who we're looking for," Toph nodded.

"Then we'll take you to him," Piandao said.

OA

"Here we are," Bumi said, after pushing a wall of earth down and allowing them to see a grassy expanse full of tents. "Welcome to Old People Camp."

"Where—where is he?" Zuko asked.

"Your uncle's in there, Prince Zuko," Piandao responded, pointing to a central tent that was located in front of them.

The teenager walked towards it, coming to a stop at the doorway. He sat down, looking at his feet. Seeing his hesitancy, Katara walked towards him. She asked, "Are you okay?"

"No, I'm not okay," the boy replied. "My uncle hates me, I know it. He loved me and supported me in every way he could, but I still turned against him. How can I even face him?"

Katara saddened as she realized that in Zuko's immediate family, "love" was probably only given if Zuko pleased them. This was evident in the fact that only after Zuko returned home with Azula, the Avatar supposedly dead, did his father accept him. It was a stark contrast from the unconditional love that Katara and Sokka received from their father. In that moment, Katara realized how similar—yet completely different—their families were. Both lost their mothers, both had an older brother and a younger sister. It made Katara realize that if circumstances were different, _she_ could have been Azula.

Finally, Katara said, "Zuko, you're sorry for what you did, right?"

"More sorry than I've been about anything in my entire life," Zuko replied.

"Then he'll forgive you," Katara assured him. "He will."

Zuko nodded, standing and taking a deep breath. Then, he pushed through the flaps of the tent.

OA

Ellie looked up as Aang walked up to her. She rose from where she previously had been sitting, and asked, "Well?"

"I have to kill the Fire Lord," he said, hanging his head.

Ellie's chest clenched for the boy, and she found that for once she had nothing to say. Instead, she glanced around. As she looked over Aang's shoulder, she caught glimpse of something that made her do a double take. As she slowly crept forward, Aang asked, "What? What is it?" Ellie made no verbal response—only pointed to a gap in the trees. There, a mountain range was just visible.

"Come on," Aang said, jumping up into the trees. Ellie followed.

From their vantage point, they could make out the shoreline and the mountains behind it. As they watched, the range seemed to be growing larger. Ellie commented on this by asking slowly, "…Are those mountains getting bigger?"

Aang looked wildly about them, where he caught sight of a trail of frothed up water behind them. They were moving.

"They're not getting larger," he nearly exclaimed. "They're getting closer! The whole island is moving!"

"Well now we know it moves manually, instead of teleporting," Ellie remarked. Then, she tapped her lip thoughtfully. "Or maybe it _does_ teleport, and _then_ it moves manually."

"Come on!" Aang shouted, jumping down from the trees and running down the hill. They reached the edge of the little island and Aang dove into the water. Ellie let out a little sigh, and then followed after….again.

The two swam beside each other, using waterbending to aid their movement. Then, they both screamed as something large moved past them—it was an enormous, clawed foot. They both tried to rise to the surface as fast as they could, and by the time they were gasping for air, they were standing on the foot. In front of them, an enormous head rose out of the water.

OA

After Zuko and Iroh made up, which involved lots of tears and hugging, they rose for the morning. The sun slowly rose. By the time it peeked above the trees, breakfast was served, and Team Avatar plus Iroh gathered around the steaming pot of rice.

"Uncle, you're the only person other than the Avatar who could possibly defeat the Father Lord," Zuko said to him in between bites of rice.

"You mean the Fire Lord," Toph corrected.

"Yes, that's what I said."

Iroh wasn't saying anything.

"We need you to come with us!" Zuko pressed.

"No, Zuko," Iroh shook his head. "It won't turn out well."

"You're the only person who can defeat him!" Zuko repeated. "And we'll be there to help."

"Even if I did beat Ozai—and I don't know if I could—history would only see it as more violence. A brother killing a brother in order to grab power," the old man explained. "No, the only way for this to end peacefully is for the Avatar to do it."

"And then," Zuko started. "Then would you take your rightful place on the throne?"

"No. Someone new must take the throne—an idealist with a pure heart and unquestionable honor. It has to be you, Prince Zuko."

"Unquestionable honor?" the boy repeated. "But I've made so many mistakes!"

"Yes, you have," Iroh nodded. "You've struggled. You've suffered…But you have always followed your own path—you restored your _own_ honor. And only you can restore the honor of the Fire Nation."

"I'll try Uncle," Zuko said firmly.

"Well," Toph interrupted. "What if the Avatars don't come back?"

"Sozin's Comet is arriving," Iroh replied, "and our destinies are upon us. The Avatars _will_ face the Fire Lord. When I was a boy, I had a vision that I would take Ba Sing Se. Only now do I see that it is my destiny to take it _back_ from the Fire Nation, so the Earth Kingdom can be free again."

"That's why you've gathered the members of the White Lotus," Suki realized.

"Yes." The old man turned to his nephew once more. "Zuko, you must return to the Fire Nation, so that when the Fire Lord falls you can assume the throne, and restore peace and order. But Azula will be there, waiting for you."

"I can take Azula," Zuko said surely, remembering how unhinged she had seemed the last time he saw her.

Iroh disagreed, "Not on your own. You'll need help."

"You're right," Zuko muttered, looking down. "Katara, how would you like to help me put Azula in her place?"

"It would be my pleasure."

"What about us?" Sokka asked suddenly. "What's our destiny today?"

"What do you think it is?" the wise man asked in return.

Sokka thought for a moment. Then, he said, "I think that, even though we don't know where Aang and Ellie are, we need to do everything we can to stop the airship fleet."

"And that means that when they do face the Fire Lord, we'll be right there if they need us," Toph added happily.

A few minutes later found them ready to go. The Order of the White Lotus was standing around them as they made their way to leave. Zuko and Katara climbed on Appa. At the same time, Toph and Suki got on a giant green creature. Sokka looked at it curiously, and Piandao informed him, "Nothing runs faster over land, or swims quicker, than the giant eelhound." He handed Sokka a map. "The airship base is on a small island just off the Earth Kingdom shore. You should be able to intercept the fleet within a day's journey."

Sokka looked at the map appraisingly, and then wrapped his arms around the elderly man's torso. "Thank you, Master," he smiled. Piandao happily hugged him back.

Over on the other side of the clearing, they heard Zuko say to his uncle, "So if I'm going to be Fire Lord after the war is over, what are you going to do?"

"After I reconquer Ba Sing Se, I'm going to reconquer my teashop—and I'm going to play Pai Sho every day!"

Seeing that Sokka had mounted the eelhound, Zuko looked up at him, meeting his eyes. The warrior gave him a brief nod. Katara turned to Iroh, "Goodbye, General Iroh."

"Goodbye everyone," the old man replied. "Today, destiny is our friend. _I know it_."

With that, Sokka urged the eelhound to the east, towards the shoreline. At the same time, Zuko whipped Appa's reigns and steered the bison towards the west, and the Fire Nation.

OA

"A lion turtle!" Aang breathed. Ellie swept her eyes over the lion turtle, catching sight of a pair of spirals that swirled towards each other, almost in the shape of a heart. At this, she knew it was a lion turtle that possessed the ability to wield fire, which made sense since they had encountered it in the Fire Nation. She knew this, because when she had watched the story of the first Avatar, the girl had noticed that each elemental lion turtle had different markings on its forehead. The girl knew that it was a fire lion turtle on which Wan had lived.

What if this was that same lion turtle that had first given Wan the ability to bend, thousands of years ago?

After the split second that these thoughts had flickered through Ellie's mind, she and Aang both bowed to the noble creature. Ellie wondered what to say, what she _could_ say. Should she ask the lion turtle if it was the same one? Should she ask it about her own past? Would it even know the answer to why she had time traveled?

Finally, she settled on saying, "Could you help us? We have to face a man—a terrible, terrible man who wants to take over the world, but we are at a loss of what to do."

"Everyone, even my own past lives are telling me we have to kill him," Aang continued for her. "But I—" he glanced at Ellie—" _we_ don't know if that's right."

The lion turtle opened its mouth, and a deep voice issued forth.

"The true mind can weather all the lies and illusion without being lost. The true heart can tough the poison of hatred without being harmed. Since beginning of time, darkness thrives in the void, but always yields to purifying light."

The lion turtle raised two claws on each paw, touching them to the forehead and chest of both Ellie and Aang. There was a brilliant green glow, and Ellie felt something swell within her—first it felt as though there was a warm bubble resting in her chest. Then, it expanded and saturated her entire being. The light faded, and the blonde girl felt herself being carried out over the water. She and Aang were both set on a cliff side.

"Wait for him," the lion turtle told them. "He will come."

Once more, they bowed to the lion turtle, and they watched as it began swimming away with unimaginable speed. They saw that they had been placed on the edge of what appeared to be the Earth Kingdom. As they waited, the sky grew dark and night fell. Then, there was a flash overhead and the world was bathed in a red light.

Sozin's Comet had arrived.

* * *

 **~LittleMissMycroft**


	45. Part 3: Sozin's Comet Part 3

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: the Last Airbender**

* * *

 **Chapter Fifteen: Avatar Ellie**

Suki surveyed the horizon behind them. As the eelhound swam through the water towards the island on which the airships were located, the comet arrived behind them. The night sky was tinged a deep red color, with the stars still standing out, and the comet a light of white that shone upon the sea.

"It's weird to say," Suki murmured, "but the comet almost looks beautiful."

"Too bad the Fire Lord's about to use it to destroy the world," Toph muttered.

Sokka turned from looking behind them, and saw that the island they were heading towards was now visible. With each stroke the eelhound made, the land mass grew closer and closer. Finally, the creature reached the beaches and climbed onto the land. There, it lay down tiredly.

Sokka, Suki, and Toph hopped off, running up the steep slope of the hills before them. They came to a rocky ridge, and once at the top they saw a fleet of ships laying along the valley below. The ship nearest them was already rising into the air, and it was followed quickly by the rest.

"Oh no!" Sokka cried. "We're too late! The fleet's already taking off."

"Then we're taking off too," Toph shouted over the roar of wind. "Where's the nearest airship?"

Sokka lifted an arm, pointing, as he said, "It's right—"

He was cut off as the chunk of earth they stood on flew into the air. Toph, having felt the direction he was pointing in, directed them towards where she assumed the airship was. As they rose into the air, she could hear it humming above them.

Their feet left the earth and they rose up at alarming speeds. Then, their stomachs leapt into their mouths as gravity took place and they began to fall. Sokka and Suki jumped down onto the nearest boardwalk of the ship, and they grabbed Toph as she nearly sailed straight between them. Sokka took the lead, running past the girls and climbing up a ladder that was located to their right.

They quickly got inside, taking out the few people that they passed as silently as possible. Finally the three made it up to the cockpit, where the chief officers on the blimp were located. Sokka crept to one side of the door, lifting a finger in front of his lips to Suki, who nodded and silently moved to the other side of the door. Then, Toph walked straight up to the door. She knocked on it.

Tap—tap—tap-tap—tap—tap—WHAM!

With that, the door fell forward. Before the officers within had any time to think, Toph rolled forward and the metal melded around her into make-shift armor. The blind girl felt the men turn towards her, and heard the whoosh of fire as they began shooting at her. She could feel the first man's surprise, and then as he thrust his fist out. Anticipating more fire, she rolled out of the way and shot a band of metal at him before he left his stance. The man let out a yell as the metal slammed him against the ceiling and held him there.

The man on the far right then decided to fire. Toph felt the man's arm go out in a wide slice. In her mind's eye, she could see the trajectory of such a slice, and estimated an enourmous bout of fire was no doubt coming towards her. Quickly, she knelt down and made the floor form a triangular shield in front of her. The black-haired girl could hear the roar of the fire around her, feeling as Sokka and Suki moved away from the doorway to avoid getting burned.

The fire dissipated and the man broke his stance. Toph waited a second to let the firebenders wonder if she was still there. Then, she flew out from behind her shield, using a pipe overhead to grab the second man and pin him against the wall. A third man fired and before the flames could travel far, she pinned him to the wall with another sheet of metal.

The only firebender left was the one at the wheel, who up to that point had continued to steer the ship. But as Toph leapt to the ceiling, climbing along the piping there, the officer turned and fired. She dropped down below his blast, landing behind the man. The firebender in question brought his arms swiping around in a blast as he turned towards her, but the blind girl grabbed his arm, deflected his blast out a window, and tossed him through the open doorway.

As the man flew past them, Sokka and Suki peeked nervously into the room, seeing that to their amazement all of the firebenders were taken care of. Toph stood near the wheel. As they walked towards her, she took the metal that was covering her face, and then thrust her fists down. The rest of the armor that encased her body rumpled to her feet like a pile of cloth.

"That's how it's done," she told them, placing her hands on her hips.

"Good work Toph!" Sokka said. "Take the wheel."

"That's a great idea!" Toph exclaimed. "Let the _blind girl_ steer the giant airship!"

"I was talking to Suki," the warrior deadpanned.

"That would make a lot more sense."

"What are we gonna do about the rest of the crew?" Suki asked, turning back to Sokka briefly once she had placed her hands on the wheel of the ship.

"Take us down closer to the water," the boy replied. "I've got an idea."

Suki did as he said, pulling little levers and holding the wheel straight. Then, Sokka pulled something down from the ceiling and spoke into it in a deceptively deeper voice, "Attention, crew! This is your captain speaking. Everyone please report to the bomb-bay immediately for—hot cakes and…sweet treats! We have a very special birthday to celebrate!"

In a few seconds they had reached the surface of the water. Sokka waited a moment, walking over to the side of the control board and leaning on a lever. Then, he wrenched the lever down and there was a loud screeching noise, followed by a bunch of splashes. Suki rushed to the broken window, leaning out to see dozens of men floating in the water.

Sokka walked over, joining Suki at the window, and looked up at the airship that was in front of the entire fleet. "Fire Lord Ozai," he said, watching the ship closely, "here we come."

OA

Five men stood on a flat, raised chunk of earth. All around the edges of it burned many orange, crackling flames. They looked up at the great walls of a city, taking note of a large Fire Nation flag that had been thrown on the wall.

"Ba Sing Se, the Order of the White Lotus is here," Bumi said with a smile.

"Here, to set you free," Pakku finished for him.

Behind them were dozens more men dressed in blue robes with white collars. In front of them stood a Grand Lotus. His eyes were closed as he breathed in the smell of fire. "Only once in a hundred years can a firebender experience this kind of power," Iroh muttered.

He breathed in, his head rearing back. Above, he could feel the burning flames of the comet. In front of them, their own flames swelled. As Iroh let out his breath, the flames dimmed once more. Up-down, up-down the fire went—until finally it grew one last time. Iroh's eyes whipped open and he spread forth his arms, clenching his fingers in front of him. The fire around their platform surged together to form a ball, spinning and growing in energy as Iroh held it there. Then, he released it and it went soaring into the wall.

It went straight through the wall, leaving it divided as flames roared on either side of the rift. Behind Iroh, Bumi leapt forward, dropping into a crouch. As he did so, their platform moved forward. Two more platforms emerged out of the ground beneath the rest of the men, and they followed their leaders into the great city.

Fire rained down and each blast was deflected easily by the Dragon of the West. Bumi, Jeong Jeong, Pakku, and Piandao all leapt in different directions into the city. As Pakku went up, he drew water out of the air and rode a large wave over the wall. Bumi, on the other hand, used earthbending to propel himself over the wall. At the same time, Jeong Jeong and Piandao ran forward through the crevice they had created.

Pakku brought the wave over another round of houses. Piandao jumped up after him, his sword brandished in his hand. The waterbending master solidified the water into ice, and the two men slid down. Piandao's sword clashed with others, and he brought a few people down as he moved. Pakku skated to the edge of his pool of ice, bending what was behind him back into water and forming a shield as a large blast of fire came his way down another street. The water was dematerialized, and Pakku prepared to be hit. But just as another blast came forth, a giant wall of fire absorbed it.

The waterbender looked up to see Jeong Jeong flying on a cushion of flames, his arms raised above his head. The wall of fire roared loudly and dissipated. From his vantage point in the sky, the firebending master could see four separate roads full of fire tanks. A few shot at him, and he called forth another wall to block it. Then, he pushed the wall back, shoving the tanks into a jumbled heap. He did the same for another road.

OA

Sokka was looking through a telescopic glass, where he could just make out Ozai's back from where he stood on the gangplank of the front airship. Their own airship was moving at the fastest speed possible, but didn't seem to be gaining on Ozai that much. As he realized this, Sokka breathed, "We're not gonna catch up to him in time."

"No…" Suki moaned.

Up in the front airship, Ozai breathed in the dusty air, feeling the power of the comet overtake him. He raised his arms in the air, throwing his head back as he meditated slightly. Then, he opened his eyes once more and a fire lit beneath his palm. The flames charged for a long few seconds in the air, and then he released his wrath on the earth below. The ships behind him followed suit, resulting in fire streaming down in large, thick bands. All of the airships were now set to destroying the earth. All except one…

Over on the other side of the valley, up on a high pillar of earth, stood Aang and Ellie. As they watched fire rain down, the blond girl turned to her fellow Avatar.

"You ready?" she asked.

Aang swallowed and nodded, with a heavily whispered, "Yeah."

They both paused, taking a moment to center themselves. Then, Aang and Ellie both dropped in identical firebending stances, their arms outstretched. The former of the two sent a volley of fire blasts towards the engines nearest him, while the latter did the same for the engines nearest _her_. The two Avatars then faced the airship as it began listing to the side, and Ozai turned towards them.

The Fire Lord's eyes locked onto Aang first, a boy he was familiar with. Then, his eyes caught on a girl standing beside the Avatar. She was an unknown—someone who he had no idea who was—and she had pale, _sand_ - _colored_ hair. Her eyes narrowed at him, and he stopped briefly. Then, a smile grew on his face. He threw off his over-robes, burning them as they left contact with his body and jumping into the air. A cushion of fire caught him, and he flew towards the two figures.

Ozai landed on a pillar before them, and he said madly, "After generations of Fire Lords failed to find you now the universe delivers you to me as an act of providence."

Ellie opened her mouth to retort, but Aang elbowed her, interrupting, "Please listen to me. We don't have to fight You have the power to end it here and stop what you're doing."

Ozai, who caught the pair's interaction, seemed to latch onto Aang's words—or rather, one of them. Instead of responding to the boy's plea for a truce, the middle-aged man growled, "You're right. I do have the power. I have all the power in the _**WORLD!**_ "

This last word he said in a roar, and fire streamed out of his mouth, arms, and legs. As they saw that he was not going to back down, both Avatars held their hands before them defensively. Ozai's flames died, and he looked at Aang, simultaneously wondering why the strange girl was there. The thought shook out of his head quickly as he jumped, spun in the air, and slammed his fist downward, creating a circular wave of flames that spread directly towards the two people before him.

Both jumped into the air, avoiding the flames, and Ellie redirected the fire back at Ozai, flying in the air on her own cushion of fire now. At the same time, Aang landed back on the pillar of earth rotating it around and kicking a chunk at the Fire Lord. The man leapt away. As he was dodging the flames, he decided that he needed to separate these two. So, he flew at Aang. At the same time, Aang jumped towards him, sending a wave of fire at him.

Ozai kicked through it, and then found a hand on his foot. He struggled to pull himself from the grasp of the strange girl, who had appeared amid the flames, but he had no vantage point in the air to do so. Seconds later, he found himself being thrown backwards. He spun for a while, and the only thing keeping him in the air was his firebending. Finally, he leveled out, hundreds of feet from where he had started.

Now enraged, the Fire Lord started towards Ellie this time. Anticipating his move as he raised his arm to firebend, the girl deflected his blast with ease. As she flew towards the older man, her face hardened, her moves lethal, Aang realized that she was fighting to kill. Aang watched as the two collided in midair, trading blows. He was momentarily frozen as he watched the fight.

He watched as Ellie moved with unrelenting fury, and Ozai matched her in both speed and strength. Then, as they broke apart slightly, Aang flew forward, grabbing Ellie and pulling her with him. As he intercepted them, he also pushed Ozai in the opposite direction with a strong blast of air. The two flew away until they neared a large lake. There, he and the blonde landed on a pillar with a roll—Aang was on top of Ellie, still clutching her wrists.

"What are you doing?!" Ellie shrieked, struggling.

"You're too angry!" Aang shouted back. "There _is_ a better way!"

"Get _off_ me!"

"I can't let you do this!"

The Fire Lord could hear their shrieks as he spun to pinpoint them. Ozai, who had noticed Aang interrupting her earlier, realized that this was their weakness—they didn't get along. He watched the two children who were arguing in the middle of the battle. The man began to fly forward at top speed. Then, before the other two had even noticed he had returned, he blasted the boy off of the girl.

"Aang!" Ellie cried, reaching out to him as he fell nearly twenty feet down, landing on the ground unconscious. Fury writhed within her like a dozen angry snakes. It made her feel sick—her stomach churned, and her heart beat in her ears. Fists clenched, the fourteen-year-old turned to Ozai.

Once again, Ozai's face showed surprise as she advanced toward him once more, unleashing a fury of fire and—did she just _earthbend_? Ozai didn't even have time to comprehend what this meant as the girl jumped forward and sliced the top of another pillar off, which she quickly shot at Ozai. The Fire Lord dodged, blasted, and burned, on the defensive. Even though he was keeping up easily with Ellie, she was beating him back.

OA

"Go Ellie!" Sokka cheered, looking out the window before him at the fighting figures in the distance. "Firebending slice!"

"Shouldn't we be helping her?" Suki asked.

"The Fire Lord is their fight," Sokka shook his head. "We need to stay focused on stopping that fleet from burning down the Earth Kingdom."

"And how do we do that, Captain Boomerang?" Toph asked sarcastically. "I can't see outside this hunk of metal."

Sokka deliberated for a moment, and then he exclaimed, "Airship slice!"

Suki raised her eyebrows at the boy. Sokka meanwhile was pulling on levers. Soon, it became evident that the airship was rising. The warrior then spun the wheel hard to the left, and they began to bank towards the end of the airship fleet behind them. Then, the firebenders on the other ships, who had just interchanged people in order to keep up stamina, released their fire once more.

Toph was standing near the shattered window, her eyes staring blindly out into the smoke. She could hear the roar of the flames, and feel the heat from them on her face. As she took note of this, the girl breathed, "Woah…that's a lot of fire isn't it?"

Sokka spun the wheel back around and their airship faced the rest of the fleet. Sokka pulled down another lever and the ship's speed went back up to maximum. Somewhere behind them, they could hear a distant boom. Immediately after, the floor beneath their feet shook. Sokka's teeth grit in determination.

"It's gonna be a rough ride," he told them. "We need to get to the top of this thing _fast_."

Sokka grabbed Toph's hand and began pulling her to the exit. Suki followed not too far behind. She and Sokka stopped in the doorway as Toph kept running.

"Then what?" Suki asked.

"Watch each-others' backs," he told her. "And, if we make it that far, I'll let you know."

He quickly leaned in to kiss her, and then the two ran off after Toph. They ran to the nearest ladder, feeling the ship groan beneath them as it no doubt plowed into the ship at the edge of the fleet closest them. They were only halfway up the ladder when the ground beneath them began to buckle, and was torn away. The three of them climbed as fast as they could, and came through a hatch that opened to the top of the airship. Sokka grabbed Toph's hand again, and the three began running towards the front of the ship.

They made it all the way towards the front, and Suki was in the back .kgnjE/LGTIH. Then, there was another rumble and Toph and Sokka came to a halt. A rift opened up in front of them, and the tail of the airship—the portion on which Suki stood—began to fall away.

" _Suki_!" Sokka screamed, reaching a hand out towards her, but he was too late. For a second, she disappeared into the smoke and rubble. Then, the dust cleared and they could see Suki standing on the airship below.

"I'm okay!" she called up to them. "Just finish the mission!"

"No," Sokka half-moaned, half-whispered.

While he was occupied, Toph felt the airship rumble as it bumped against a second one. As it shook beneath her feet, she said slowly, "Sokka, I think we've gotta…" The ship gave a large wrench, and both she and Sokka exclaimed at the same time, "Jump!" They jumped down, landing on a third airship.

OA

Zuko and Katara rode on Appa through the Fire Nation. Just as the bison landed before the palace, they saw Azula kneeling before the altar. A Fire Sage was behind her, holding a crowning hairpiece in his hands. As the Fire Sage saw them, he cut off in mid-sentence. Azula looked at him sharply, hissing "What are you waiting for? Do it!"

Zuko slid off of the bison and called to her, catching her attention for the first time, "Sorry, but you're not going to become Fire Lord today. I am."

Azula laughed, responding, "You're hilarious."

"You're going down," Katara growled, dropping down beside Zuko.

The Fire Sage was still standing behind her, waiting to put on the hair piece, but Azula raised her hand to stop him, saying, "Wait." Then, she looked to her brother. "You want to be Fire Lord? Fine. Let's settle this. Just you and me, brother—the showdown that was always meant to be. Agni Kai!"

"You're on," Zuko replied immediately. His sister's mouth quirked up into a twisted smile. Katara turned to the boy, surprise and worry showing on her face.

"What are you doing?" she asked quietly. "She's playing you. She knows she can't take us both, so she's trying to separate us."

"I know," he said softly. "But I can take her this time."

"But even _you_ admitted to your uncle that you would need help facing Azula"

Zuko shook his head briefly, eyeing his sister. "There's something off about her. I can't explain it, but she's slipping. And this way, no one else has to get hurt."

Katara nodded and both Zuko and Azula moved to take up the customary kneeling stance on either side of the plaza. The Fire Sages signaled for them to start. Zuko turned around and held a hand out, in a defensive stance. His sister stood and turned towards him, dumping her drape to the side and grinning, "I'm sorry it has to end this way, _brother_."

"No you're not," he replied simply.

She was still grinning, her eyes golden slits as her eyebrows were drawn down forcibly. She raised both of her hands before her. Then, with a spun, the girl began the battle. They traded more blows than Katara could even count. The blasts coming from the two separate people, although different colors, were well matched in intensity—Katara had never seen flames so large in her life before, and attributed it to the comet.

A few times, they would break off as one or both needed to catch a breath—although when Zuko tried to catch his breath, he often found himself under fire. On one of these instances, it became apparent that Zuko was wearing Azula down. As she gasped for breath, Zuko called to her, "No lightning today? What's the matter, afraid I'll redirect it?"

He spread his arms into a ready stance.

Still panting wildly, Azula rasped—or, more accurately—growled, "I'll show you lightning!"

She spread her arms in wide circles, her two fingertips extended, until she had a circle of electricity crackling before her. She held her dominant arm before her, ready to attack. She eyed Zuko's ready stance. Then, her eyes glanced over to Katara, who stood behind Azula's brother, watching. Without thinking twice, Azula extended her arm, allowing the power to flow down it and towards the Water Tribe girl.

She briefly heard her brother cry out, "No!" and he disappeared amid the flash of light. Then, the lightning dissipated and Zuko fell to the ground. He seized up a few times, groaning as electricity continued to dance up and down his body.

" _Zuko_!" Katara screamed. She darted forward to help him, but a flash of blue fire barred her way. The girl was forced to run the opposite way as the firebender that was her own age began cackling madly after her.

OA

Ellie chased after Ozai, who was definitely fleeing at this point. The girl figured he was attempting to re-strategize while he was moving, which explained why he wasn't actively pursuing the blonde. She was still flying on her own cushion of fire, just like her opponent was. He would fly around a pillar or two, she would use earthbending to blast through it. They crossed the large body of water.

Ozai landed on a cliff on the other side, and extended two fingers on both hands—he was about to bend some lightning. As Ellie recognized this, she dropped down across from him. She shot at him a few times, trying to break his concentration, but electricity continued to crackle around the older man's fingers. He managed to swing his arms in a circle, and a bolt of lightning formed.

Over on the ground near the middle of the field of stone pillars came a groan. Aang was regaining consciousness. With a grunt, he attempted to prop himself up on his elbows. The airbender looked and saw orange flashes of light coming from above him. Quickly, he leapt to his feet and hopped onto a pillar. There, across the lake, Aang could see Ozai forming a bolt of lightning.

As the lightning left the Fire Lord's control, Ellie took a deep, cleansing breath. Her mind cleared as she prepared to meet this lightning bolt, and redirect it. Everything fell silent. For the first time in her life, she felt at peace. All Ellie could hear was the crackle of the lightning and her heart beating in her ears.

Thump.

It was ironic how she only found peace in the midst of the battle. It was just like _Star Wars_.

Thump.

Emotion, yet Peace. Chaos, yet Harmony.

Thump.

And then, her eyes glowed orange.

* * *

 **~LittleMissMycroft**


	46. Part 3: Sozin's Comet Part 4

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: the Last Airbender**

* * *

 **Chapter Sixteen: Avatar Aang**

The Fire Lord watched in surprise as the girl's eyes began to glow orange. How was this possible? He had heard of the Avatar State, of course. Was this some unusual form of it? Was it possible that this girl was also an Avatar? He wouldn't have believed it had he not been staring the fact in the face. Especially as the girl rose off of her feet, a swirling vortex of air holding her aloft, and fire laced out from all of her limbs, circling around to protect her.

And, even as this was going on, Aang stood on the other side of the lake, watching. As he felt the spiritual energy—as well as fury and chaos—roll off of Ellie in waves, Aang felt his own connection to his past lives reappear. His own eyes began to glow, and for some inexplicable reason he felt as though he _had_ to go over and help Ellie before she did something terrible.

As he rose into the air as well, Ellie had completed her circle of elements. The ring of fire was counterbalanced by chunks of earth that circled opposite. On the outside of the ball of air was another ring—this one consisting of water from the lake. Ozai watched in terror as she then whipped out her hands, causing the air to blast him off of the cliff.

Then, Aang appeared by her side in a similar protective bubble.

OA

The air was littered with flying embers and ashes. All around the airship on which Toph and Sokka stood were other, damaged airships. Some had large holes in them, or damaged engines. Others were engulfed in towering flames. Quickly, Sokka led Toph to the back of the ship. Once there, he turned to her and instructed, "Toph! Metalbend the rudder so it's jammed in a turning position. The ship will spiral and slam into the others."

"Got it!" she replied, grabbing him and moving him out of her way. Then, she spit on her hands for good measure, grabbed the metal rudder, and began pulling it towards herself with a grunt. The smooth material rumbled and twisted until the rudder was curved inwards.

"Have I ever mentioned how great it is that you invented metalbending?"

"You could stand to mention it more," Toph grinned.

As the warrior predicted, the ship did indeed spiral sharply—directly into a neighboring ship. As the two blimps collided, Sokka and Toph nearly fell over. A hatch opened behind them, and firebenders flooded out. Sokka grabbed Toph's hand and began running away. He could hear flames gathering behind him as the first soldier fired.

Knowing that their blasts were stronger, and had more trajectory, Sokka took Toph over to the side of the ship. Just as they began falling over the rounded edge, the Water Tribe boy drew his sword and stabbed it into the side of the ship. As they fell, both Sokka and Toph let out shouts and screams. The sword didn't seem to slow them down at all as it sliced down the side of the airship. Then, they fell away as the ship rounded once more. Sokka landed on a walking platform below—the only thing keeping Toph from falling to her doom was Sokka, who held her by the wrist. Sokka's sword fell and landed point-down in front of his feet.

The Water Tribe boy let out a yell of pain as he tried to move, and realized he must have landed on his leg—it hurt _so much_ —and he groaned, "My leg!" Sokka could feel Toph's hand slipping in his grasp and moved to grab it better, taking hold of her forearm. "Hang in there Toph!"

"Aye, aye, Captain," she said faintly, sounding as though she believed she was going to die. Sokka certainly felt that way as he turned to see that two firebenders had run down the gangplanks on either side of them.

The teen looked between them, watching as one whipped out his hand. Quickly, Sokka reached down and grabbed his boomerang. He slung it at the man on the right. Then, just as quickly, he kicked up the sword at his feet, grabbed it in one hand, and lobbed it at the remaining soldier. Both men fell, swaying on the cords that held them to the ship. Sokka, meanwhile, watched as his sword spun down into the depths of the forest below.

"Bye, space sword," he said faintly.

He could hear the clopping of feet on the metal walkways. Painstakingly, Sokka raised his head and saw that the walkway directly in front of their own was full of at least a dozen firebenders, all standing at the ready to fire. As Sokka felt their hands slipping once more, Sokka called, "I don't think boomerang's coming back, Toph. It looks like this is the end."

Sokka looked up again as the men in front of them all let out gasps and ran off. Curious as to what had scared them away, the boy turned to see one of the other airships heading straight for them. It rammed into the bottom of the ship and continued moving below them. Sokka let go of Toph, and she fell onto its back. Then, he pushed himself down. The warrior landed with a shriek, clutching his leg—which he suspected was broken. Behind him, Toph got to her feet.

"How did that happen?" she asked. "Did boomerang come back?"

"No," Sokka replied, looking up. His eyes caught on a familiar pair of dark blue ones. "Suki did."

OA

It quickly became evident to Ozai that Avatar Aang had no intent of pursuing him. Instead, he flew directly at the girl Avatar. The two spheres of air collided. Warring pairs of eyes met. The four elements clashed. Sparks flew, earth smashed, and water splashed. As the two drew away, Aang tried to whip Ellie with air, and she responded with fire. While they were preoccupied, the Fire Lord began backing away, now afraid to get himself involved with those powers.

But it seemed that Ellie sensed that her prey was getting away, because soon she was flying towards him. At that, Ozai full out began to run. But she was too quick for him.

He landed flat on his stomach on the ball of air that the Avatar was manipulating. She made wide sweeping motions, and the Fire Lord found himself flying through the air once more. As she neared again, he drew fire from her circle and kicked off, flying as fast as he could in the opposite direction. Ellie made jerking gestures with her wrists and earth fired at him like a machine gun.

Then, Aang collided with her once more.

OA

Iroh could hear sounds of the battle raging behind him as he stood in an abandoned part of the city. Bumi was no doubt stacking and crushing fire tanks like a child playing with a set of blocks. Pakku was probably drowning men in their sorrows. But none of that mattered to Iroh in that instant.

Before him was the palace. All around was flat land—not a soul was in sight. The old man looked begrudgingly on the flag that hung on the outer palace wall—the flag adorned with the Fire Nation insignia. The retired general briefly reflected on how he had once aspired to put that flag there.

Now, it seemed he was to take it down.

Sparks flew out from his fingertips and a flame grew, landing on the flag and eating it up. Revealed beneath was the Earth Kingdom symbol. A smile grew at the tips of the old man's mouth.

OA

Katara let out a gasp as she saw Zuko attempt to prop himself up on his elbows— _he was alive!_

She ran towards him, water already forming around her hands, but another blast of blue fire stopped her. Azula was standing on the roof of a nearby building, smiling wickedly down on her. She let out another volley of fire, and called, "I would rather our family physician look after Zuzu, if you don't mind!" As she spoke, she spun her arm around her and lightning began to form once more. Then, she released a bolt towards the Water Tribe girl.

Katara met it with a wave of the water in a nearby trench, and smoke swirled all around her. Before the smoke cleared, a large wave of fire headed for her. Katara ran, using a pillar to shield herself from the flames, cringing as more were shot at her. The fire slowed, and Katara slowly opened her eyes and straightened behind the pillar.

"Zuzu!" came Azula's voice from the rooftop behind Katara's hiding place. "You don't look so good!"

The sound was followed by the crackling of lightning. Katara ran, dashing behind another pillar. The girl then stepped out, catching sight of a water basin. She bent the water out of it, and brought it sweeping around towards Azula's rooftop. But as it splashed harmlessly to the ground, Katara realized the other girl was no longer there.

The Water Tribe girl glanced around just in time to see Azula. She was speeding towards Azula through the platform, propelled by jets of blue flames. Katara ran out, drawing water from the basin once more and using it to skate across to another covered awning.

She reached it just as her water ran out, and stumbled forward a bit. The girl landed on a grate, and blinked down at the sight of water—it must have been a drainage grate, in case of flooding. Katara looked back up, and her eyes caught on a chain that hung on a nearby pipe. She quickly got to her feet, backing over to the pipe and grabbing the chain. The girl stood there, chain clasped behind her back, as Azula staggered underneath the awning, growling, "Come here, you little peasant."

Katara waited for her to draw nearer, moving forwards onto the grate. Then, just as Azula raised a hand to firebend, Katara threw both of her arms into the air. The water beneath their feet followed the motion, freezing around them. Azula's eyes darted around as she realized that they were both encased in ice. Katara closed her eyes briefly, exhaling and using her bending to felt the water around herself. She drifted forward, wrapping the chain around Azula's outstretched wrist, and moving around to wrap the other as well. Then, she allowed the water to let her drift down, and wrapped the chain under a part of the grate.

Once Katara knew Azula was secured enough, she let the rest of the ice melt, and the water splashed down around them. Both girls coughed and wheezed, sucking in the hot air. Then, before Azula could regain her wits, Katara tightened the chain in order to make sure the princess was secure. Azula struggled, but Katara was already running over to make sure Zuko was all right.

She rolled him onto his back and pressed her hands on his injured chest. Water appeared around her hands, glowing briefly. Zuko let out a sigh of relief as his pain subsided and looked up at the girl before him.

"Thank you," he breathed.

"I should be the one thanking you," Katara smiled. It was Zuko that showed her that not all firebenders were bad—he that helped her find closure about her mother's death—and it was he that took a bolt of lightning for her. She didn't know how she could ever repay a thing like that.

She helped him sit up, briefly aware of the flashes of blue fire behind her. She and Zuko turned to see Azula rolling around as much as her bonds permitted, sobbing her eyes out and occasionally blasting fire out of her mouth. Katara honestly found it a wretched sight to behold. She closed her eyes briefly, looking down. Then, she looked up sympathetically at Zuko, whose expression was grim.

OA

Aang let the elements encasing him melt away. Just before he could fall, he entered Ellie's own bubble and began bending the elements around the two of them. Then, he grabbed Ellie by the scruff of her shirt and threw her out to land on a pillar behind them. As she made contact with the earth, the forcefulness of Aang's actions shocked her out of the Avatar State.

She turned to where she had trapped Ozai, on a separate pillar. He was laying on his back with his arms and legs splayed out, secured by earth. Aang turned to the Fire Lord as well, and looked down at the man that had caused all of this trouble.

"Fire Lord Ozai," Aang said, his voice echoing the voices of the hundreds of lives that had come before him. "You and your forefathers have devastated the balance of this world, and now you shall pay the ultimate price."

He raised his hand, and the four elements that circled around him swirled up. Water, earth, fire, and air arced above them and came down, spiraling around each other. At the bottom they came to what looked like a deadly point. But then, just before they could strike the Fire Lord, Aang let his hand fall. The glowing in his tattoos subsided as the elements splashed harmlessly to the ground. Only the sphere of air remained, gently lowering Aang to the ground. Once his feet contacted the pillar, the glowing in his eyes subsided as well, and he turned away from both Ellie and Ozai.

"No," he said softly. "I'm not going to end it like this."

Realizing that he had been released, Ozai shakily sat up and raised a hand to his face. Then, his eyes narrowed and his eyebrows drew down. Slowly moving forward, he hissed, "Even with all the power in the world, you're still weak."

One hand made contact with the ground, allowing Aang to feel the other man's movement, and another raised to firebend. As flames leapt into the air, Aang brought up his leg, encased the Fire Lord's arm in earth, and moved away just in time. Then, he raised a wedge of earth to intercept the man's other arm, and earthbent both arms back until Ozai was unable to move, but was still sitting upright. Letting out a blast of air and fire mixed together, Aang placed his hands on Ozai's chest and forehead. All of this Aang did fluidly, and under one minute.

Aang let out a deep breath, closing his eyes. As he stood there, he remembered the lion turtle's words from earlier that day. _"In the beginning, we lion turtles bent not the elements around us, but the energy within ourselves…_ " As these words echoed in his mind, Aang found that he could feel Ozai's energy, buzzing around angrily with darkness and selfishness. At the same time, Aang could feel his own energy, light and free.

Ellie watched as Aang meditated slightly. Then, his face titled towards the sky and his eyes snapped open, glowing a white-blue light. At the same time, orange light emitted from Ozai's eyes. Slowly, the different lights spread out, meeting where Aang gripped the Fire Lord. They stayed at a stalemate for a brief few seconds.

Then, the orange light continued to spread, even creeping up Aang's arms—then shoulders, and then it was invading his face until only one tiny sliver of blue light remained. Aang looked down towards Ozai with determination, and the his light flashed out faster than Ozai's had. Then, they were both overcome by the blue light. A pillar of light flashed into the sky, illuminating the clouds above.

Then, the light dissipated—first in the clouds, and then from the two individuals. Ellie, who had been forced to cover her eyes, slowly lowered her arm and stared at Aang as he straightened himself. Ozai, on the other hand, slumped weakly to the ground, now released by his earth-bonds once more.

Wordlessly, Aang looked to Ellie, hopping over to stand beside her. She nodded. Then, the two of them turned in opposite directions. They both made identical motions—raising their arms and waving them slightly. The water, responding to the Avatars' commands, raised up to consume the flames that raged across the nearby forests, and then settled once more.

The battle was over.

OA

"You did it!" Sokka cried, limping over to join Aang, Ellie, and the limp Ozai. "You should have seen yourselves! It was amazing! You were all like—" he made a bunch of whooshing sounds, miming a bunch of slices and blasts—"and the Fire Lord was all like—" this time he made a bunch of choking noises, letting his tongue loll out and pretending to die.

Ellie laughed slightly, and they turned to see Suki and Toph, who stood near the Fire Lord. Ex-Fire Lord? Anyway, Suki slowly pointed to the limp form, and asked in a small voice, "So did you, you know, finish the job?"

"I'm still alive," he hissed darkly, glaring up at her through his loose hair.

Her face slackened slightly and her finger quickly withdrew as though the man would bite it off.

"I learned that there was another way to defeat him and restore balance," Aang replied. "I took his bending away."

Sokka, Suki, and Toph regarded him in surprise.

"Wow!" Toph muttered. "Who taught you _that_?"

"A giant lion turtle," the boy replied sheepishly.

"You have the craziest adventures when you disappear," the blind girl laughed.

Meanwhile, Sokka was turning to Ozai, and grinned, "Well, look at you, buster! Now that your firebending's gone, I guess we should call you the Loser Lord."

"I am the Phoenix King!" the man said weakly, but aggressively, before keeling forward.

"Yeah, Phoenix King of Getting His Butt Whooped," Toph laughed.

"Yeah!" Suki exclaimed. "Or how about King of the…Guys Who Don't Win?"

Toph turned to her, deadpanned, and said, "Leave the nicknames to us, honey."

As they spoke the comet flew away. Ellie felt her chi subside slightly within her, but it was not a feeling she was sad to experience. The girl was honestly glad that everything was over. Now that night was becoming apparent, she felt drained and ready for a good night's rest.

There would be much to do in the coming days.

OA

Sokka insisted on helping Zuko put on his traditional armor—it was something about how in the Water Tribe, chiefs would help dress their sons before their crowning ceremonies. And since the Fire Lord was now in prison, and Zuko's nutcase of a sister was in a rehabilitation facility, the Water Tribe boy felt it a necessity to make clear to Zuko that Team Avatar was now his family. Zuko didn't protest that that wasn't a custom in the Fire Nation.

Aang sat near the door where the ceremony would take place. Ellie sat across from him. Out in the streets, they could hear the noises of the crowd. Katara would be in that crowd—along with her father and other Water Tribesmen. There were also people of the Earth Kingdom and Fire Nation present, though most of the foreigners there consisted of people who had fought in the invasion force, and, of course, the White Lotus.

Mai walked up, looking around briefly.

"Where's Zuko?" she asked.

Aang pointed to the doors. Ellie got to her feet.

"Why do you want to know?" she asked curiously.

"I just—wanted to let him know that I forgive him," the girl said slowly. She glanced at the Avatar, who was looking at her expectantly. "I do not, however, forgive you." Ellie nodded, as though those words were exactly what she had expected. "I will always love Zuko, and I respect him for his desires and choices, but I don't think I will ever be friends with you."

And with that she walked away.

"We'll let Zuko know you forgive him!" Aang called after her awkwardly. Ellie shook her head. Moments later, Zuko emerged. Ellie looked up at him appraisingly. Sokka, meanwhile slipped out to join his family in the crowd.

"You ready?" Ellie asked Zuko.

"Yeah," he nodded, looking to both of the Avatars. "You?" The nodded as well. Zuko looked down at Aang. "I can't believe that a year ago, my purpose in life was hunting down, and now…"

"Now we're friends," Aang smiled.

"Yeah," the other boy smiled. He liked that word. _Friends_. "We are friends."

" _I_ can't believe that a year ago, I was still frozen in a block of ice," Aang mused.

"And I was living in the future," Ellie muttered quietly.

"A lot has changed," Zuko acknowledged. "And the word is going to be even more different—we'll rebuild it together."

The three of them hugged each other, and Ellie found herself in the middle of the hug. She smiled contentedly—this was her family now. Then, Aang broke away, and Ellie did the same. Zuko turned, still smiling, and pushed through the curtain that led to the raised dais beyond. Aang pushed in after him, and finally Ellie. A gong was sounded as Zuko moved forward, his eyes glancing over the crowd, and raised a hand to quiet the cheers.

"Please," he said. "The real heroes are the Avatars."

Ellie and Aang stepped forward, standing side by side. The cheers got even louder. Ellie and Aang glanced at each other, and then both smiled widely. Ellie glanced up at Zuko, and briefly their eyes caught before he turned to address the crowd once more.

"Today," he said, "this war is finally over!" The cheers swelled again. "I promised my uncle that I would restore the honor of the Fire Nation, and I will. The road ahead of us is challenging. A hundred years of fighting has left the world scarred and divided. But with the Avatars' help, we can help get it back on the right path, and begin an era or love and peace."

With that, he walked over to the sages, and dropped into a crouch. The head Fire Sage held a golden object high in the sky—it was a hair piece, shaped like the Fire Nation emblem. Then, the hair piece was lowered and inserted into Zuko's top knot.

"All hail Fire Lord Zuko!" the sage cried.

And as he got to his feet, beckoning his friends to stand with him, the cheers became deafening.

OA

"Zuko, stop moving! I'm trying to capture the moment!"

Ellie looked up from where she sat crisscross atop a table, to see Sokka mock glaring at the other boy, a paint brush clutched in his hand. Zuko, who had been walking around serving tea to the others, came to a confused halt. Iroh stopped playing his tsungi horn briefly as well. They were all gathered in his teashop for a small little private celebration of the war's end—it had only been a few days since the event itself.

At their confusion, Sokka explained as he went back to painting, "I wanted to do a painting, so we always remember the good times together."

"That's very thoughtful of you, Sokka," Katara smiled, moving around to look over his shoulder while he worked. Her eyes flitted over the scroll, and then her face drew down in surprise. "Wait, why did you give me Momo's ears?"

"Those aren't ears, those are your hair-loopies," the boy protested.

Zuko moved around to look as well, setting down his tray of teacups.

"At least you don't look like a boarcupine," he muttered. "My hair's not that spiky!"

"I look like a man," Mai remarked.

"Ellie looks good," Suki said quietly. "But why did you paint me firebending?"

"It was more interesting that way."

"Hey, my belly's not that big anymore! I've really trimmed down."

"Well I think you all look perfect!"

As they got louder, and began laughing, Ellie began to tune them out. She glanced up to see that Aang wasn't joining in either. She looked back down at her Nike tennis shoes. Her old home seemed so far away. It was now the fall equinox—the first day of fall—her birthday. It was the first birthday she had spent here. Time was hard to keep track of now, as the months were different from what she grew up with, but it was easy to take note of the seasons that had to do with the sun and the moon—people made a big deal of those.

Ellie didn't know why she felt so empty at the knowledge that it was her birthday. Maybe it was because she didn't tell the others. Or maybe it was because she had now been here over a year. She didn't know why that was surprising, as she had never expected to return home anyway, but she somehow still had some sort of hope buried within her. Some feeling of uncertainty.

She glanced up to see Katara and Aang moving out of the room towards the balcony. Then, she glanced back over at the laughing teenagers. Suddenly, Ellie felt like she had to get out—she had to escape this mirth. The girl only wanted to be alone for a little while—to have quiet to reflect and make peace with her past.

She slid to her feet, quickly moving towards the kitchen portion of the shop. None of the teenagers noticed her, but she did pass by Iroh on her way out, and he gave her a knowing nod. For some odd reason, that was enough to make the wall Ellie had built up get torn down by the torrential pour of her mixed emotions. As she shut the door behind her, tears began welling up and spilling over. Her shoulders shook, and she gasped for air as she clutched the front of Iroh's unlit stove.

She cried for a little while, and then she turned back towards the door, wiping her eyes and trying to calm her breathing. Then, she nearly screamed. Sitting before her was an unexpected form. He appeared to have been waiting patiently for her the entire time she was crying. He had a knowing look in his eyes. It took only a second for Ellie to recognize who he was.

It was the monkey from late the year before—the Winter Solstice. He still had the long dark face, framed by large white hair, and long orange and red robes. A necklace hung down to his chest—the largest bead sporting an odd sort of symbol. His outline was vague, but he didn't seem to be disappearing like he had on all other occasions she had seen him.

Her tears forgotten—one even still glistening on her cheek—she took a hesitant step forward. Then, Ellie asked in a whisper, "Who are you?"

"Time," the monkey replied simply. She briefly remembered something Iroh had mentioned when they had figured out she was the Avatar, and she had been describing the Spirit World to him…

"Like the Tree of Time?"

"A living embodiment, yes."

Ellie hesitated. Time regarded her with knowing eyes. Then, she asked, "Were you the one who brought me here?"

"Yes," the monkey replied simply.

"Why?"

"The balance of the world hinged on it. We spirits could see that the Dark Avatar's powers were returning. So, just before yours could manifest, we sent you here, where you could learn to control Him." Ellie supposed he meant Vaatu. The time spirit still looked at her. "You still have questions."

"Has time been passing while I've been gone?"

"No," he replied. "You could even return to the moment you left, so should you wish."

"I—I haven't changed time? I mean _surely_ I've changed time, but I haven't changed it enough to where I've never been born?"

He shook his head. "You have a choice—return to your own time, and take up the mantle of the sole Avatar, or stay here and work with Avatar Aang."

"But if I stay here, there won't be an Avatar there?"

"There will be," the monkey replied.

"But, how does that work?"

"It just does. If you return, you will be the sole Avatar your entire lifetime. If you stay here, someone else will take up the mantle."

Ellie looked down, not knowing which she should choose. Should she go home to her family, or stay here? If she stayed, would her family still have a version of her, or would she disappear?

But if she left now, she _definitely_ would disappear from this time. What would the others think? And Aang—she had promised that she would always have his back, as he would always have hers. Should she just break that promise? Or Zuko—she didn't think she could ever find someone like him in her entire lifetime. Ellie hadn't really made any advances towards the boy, feeling herself to young and timid to do so—especially since he was _supposed_ to get with Mai. But he hadn't gotten with Mai—which meant she _had_ changed time…Slowly, she reached an internal decision.

"I think I'll just—" she broke off, seeing that the time spirit had disappeared— "…stay here."

He had already known what she would decide.

Still emotional from her earlier break-down, Ellie let out a giddy giggle, her eyes tearing up again. The tears spilled over briefly, and she wiped them away. The girl moved towards the door, exiting as she wiped her eyes one last time. Then, she glanced up to see Zuko standing there, his hand raised to knock. Catching sight of her red eyes, he asked, "Is everything okay?"

And Ellie threw herself on him, hugging his neck, kissing his cheek, and sobbing profusely.

This was where she belonged.

* * *

 **And that's the end! Hope you enjoyed!**

 **~LittleMissMycroft**


	47. Epilogue

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: the Last Airbender**

* * *

 **Epilogue:**

Ellie lay in bed. It had been fifty-eight years since the end of the Hundred Year War. Already, Aang was gone. She believed that the White Lotus was still searching for his successor. Aang and Katara had married and had three wonderful children. One a nonbender, one a waterbender, and one an airbender. Ellie knew that Aang had been ecstatic with the birth of the airbender, but she also knew that he cherished all of them.

Much as she cherished her own children. She had gone on to marry Zuko not too long after they were both of age—in Ellie's mind, at least, which was when she was nineteen and he was twenty-one. Most Fire Nation citizens— _especially_ the Fire Lord—married by the time they were seventeen. Seven years later, they had a set of triplets, two boys and one girl, and an additional girl a few years later. All of them were firebenders.

The oldest was a boy, Colton, and he was next in line for the throne. Ellie had always had a soft spot for him, as he was the only of her four children that sported her blonde hair. She was glad that the gene had passed down at all, knowing it was a recessive trait. But, she also doted on Yukin, who was a sweet, kind-hearted child. In personality, he reminded her of Zuko.

Already, she had seen the birth of five grandchildren as well. Two from Colton; one from Yukin; one from the youngest, Raina; and even two great-grandchildren from Yukin's daughter, Ursa. They were all bright and cheerful. The oldest was Colton's eldest son, age twenty-five, and the youngest was Yukin's latest granddaughter, who was five.

Currently, Ellie knew that her husband was out of the house. Something urgent had come up, though he wouldn't tell her what it was. She couldn't come along, because she had been getting weaker the past year, and he likely didn't want to worry her. Of course, Ellie was more jealous than worried, so perhaps that wasn't needed.

Zuko also left Yukin, the old mother hen, in charge of watching her.

But Ellie could feel that she wouldn't last much longer.

"Yukin," she said quietly, her voice cracked slightly with age.

"Mother?" he asked, coming to her side and clasping her hand.

"I need you to leave me for a second."

"What? Why?"

"Just trust me," Ellie whispered. "I need to be alone."

The boy—well, older man—walked towards the door, occasionally giving her a hesitant glance, before exiting. Once the door close fully, Ellie closed her eyes in relief. When she opened them again the time spirit, stood before her.

"I need one last favor, old friend," she said softly.

And she knew she didn't even have to tell him, because he was looking at her with those knowing eyes, holding a hand out to her in invitation.

* * *

 **Now, if you want more, you can go and read the sequel. I have just posted it. It's a Legend of Korra story, called _The Other Avatar: Darkness Reborn_. **

**~LittleMissMycroft**


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